Welcome to Paradise
by darylsdiva1
Summary: Post college AU, no walkers. Carol, Daryl, Rick and some other familiar faces shared a house in college, but life has taken them in different directions. A reunion in Hawaii ten years later brings them all back together in a way none of them expected. Caryl/later Carickyl.
1. Chapter 1

_Okay people. I am nervous about posting this. The Carickyl crack ship isn't something I've tried writing before. Blame Norman and that damn ET picture... it gave me...ideas. Very naughty smutty ideas..._

 _But if you've read my stuff before, you know I don't do porn without plot, so there will be emotions and reasons to explain the smuttiness too._

 _Please be kind._

* * *

 _ **Welcome to Paradise**_

1.

"I'll talk to you soon, sweetie—please be good for your Aunt Jacqui—I don't want to hear you've been gluing the cat to the ceiling or some such nonsense." Carol laughed at the raspberry her daughter blew in her ear through the cell phone. "I'll call again tomorrow at bedtime. Text me if you need anything. Love you and miss you lots. Bye baby."

Carol ended the call and tucked her phone back in her pocket, pushing away the wave of loneliness she felt being so far from her daughter. Picking up her bags, she scanned the crowd in front of her and her face broke into a huge smile when she recognized a familiar face, letting her luggage fall back down to the floor as she held out her arms.

"Carol! I'm so glad you made it!" Michonne gushed as she embraced the petite woman with the laughing blue eyes. The dread-locked African American woman looked stunning in a multi-colored bikini top and sarong skirt, several orchid leis hung around her neck in a bright profusion. She removed two and placed them over her friend's head, kissing her on both cheeks and telling her _"Aloha. Welcome to paradise!"_

"Wouldn't have missed it for the world." Carol said back, relishing the tight embrace of her old friend. Even though it had been almost six years since they had seen each other face to face, it felt as natural as breathing to be here.

"Let me look at you—ah, you look fighting strong, woman. I'm proud of you." Michonne said approvingly, as she stepped back a little while still maintaining her hold on Carol's bicep.

Carol wore a short sleeved dress in a warm shade of orange that complimented the russet corkscrew curls that she'd tied off her face with an orange and blue scarf. The knee length dress showed off her slim but toned figure, nipping in at the waist and dipping in front to show a bit of cleavage.

"I knew you'd chew me out if I got soft." Carol grinned. "Thank you for inviting me; it was just the excuse I needed to finally ask for some vacation time."

"You work too hard. You deserve some fun." Michonne got a sassy sarcastic look on her face then, "Especially after shedding that two hundred and fifty pound pain in the ass you hitched yourself to against _all_ good advice."

"I always say, if you're going to make mistakes, make big ones!" Carol said flippantly, but her smile didn't reach her eyes. Her marriage had been a nightmare, getting out of it even more so. Without the support of her old college friends, especially Andrea, who had become an excellent divorce lawyer, she didn't know what she would've done.

"Well, you're in paradise now, so get ready to make some _fun_ ones for a change!" Michonne laughed.

After graduation, while Carol began her marriage to football star Edward Pelletier, Michonne had started her career in the military, eventually being stationed here in Hawaii. She loved it so much that when her final tour was up she relocated here permanently and opened a very successful exercise studio targeted at women, where they not only learned fitness, but self-defense. For the tenth anniversary of their college graduation, she had talked everyone into coming to the islands.

This particular reunion was limited to the ten people who had shared a sprawling Victorian at the edge of the University campus. Seven or eight of them had been getting together annually ever since graduation, but two, Carol and one other, who had been forced to leave school at the end of junior year, had never been able to make it. Carol, because her husband forbade it and Daryl Dixon because...well, no one knew exactly why Daryl had never responded to the invitation.

Carol had always had a thing for Daryl, but back then he'd been a mystery to her. Painfully shy, the only person he seemed to talk to was his best friend and roommate Rick Grimes. Fall semester of junior year, there had been a big uproar in the house when Rick found out his girlfriend at the time, Lori, was sleeping with another housemate, Shane Walsh. When Carol went to check on Rick, who she'd been friends with since elementary school, she had found he and Daryl asleep... _in the same bed_...and confused, had backed out quietly, never saying a word to anyone about it.

At the end of that school year, when Daryl told them that he had family problems and wouldn't be back in the fall, Carol didn't know who had been more devastated, her or Rick. After the final party of the year an extremely drunk Daryl found her cleaning the kitchen at three in the morning. She'd never seen him drunk before and thought he looked adorable all sort of mussed and sleepy-eyed. Apparently a very happy and loose tongued drunk, he had not only told her he thought she had the finest ass he'd ever seen, but then proceeded to ask permission to hold it, just once before he had to go.

Bemused, Carol said yes, and he wrapped his arms around her and took two big handfuls of her behind and then kissed her until her knees went all funny. Sometime during the kiss, Rick wandered in and asked what was going on, drunk yet gallant, protective of Carol's virtue. Daryl protested that Carol was so sweet he'd just had to taste her, at which time Rick decided he did too. While Daryl still held her, moving his lips down to suck on her neck, Rick took her mouth, making Carol's brain implode.

The sound of loud voices coming down the hall to the kitchen made Carol push them both away and flee to her room, her mind spinning out all sorts of scenarios for what might've happened if they hadn't been interrupted. She didn't have that much experience with sex, but what she'd felt with Daryl's hands on her ass and tongue in her mouth had been so hot that her panties had been soaked even before Rick had come in the room. Having two hot beautiful men kissing her, touching her at the same time? She'd locked her bedroom door and proceeded to have quite a little session with her trusty battery operated boyfriend...

She didn't say anything about the kitchen to either Daryl or Rick the next day as they were packing up to leave and was relieved to see they didn't seem to even remember the incident. Rick gave her a warm brotherly hug goodbye, promising to call her while they were home over the summer. He couldn't give her a ride home like he usually did because he was heading to Daryl's home town first to drop off Daryl's stuff for him, alone in his pick up. Daryl would follow on his motorcycle. They were the last three to leave. Carol had to hang around until the landlord came to do the damage inspection and then turn over their keys.

She stood between Rick's truck and Daryl's bike and watched Rick pull away, waving, and then looked down at Daryl, who crouched beside the saddle bags of his bike, his long bangs obscuring his steel blue eyes.

"I'll miss you." Daryl said quietly, tossing his head and pushing his hair back, meeting her eyes, surprising her.

On a whim, Carol held out her hand to him and surprising her again, he took it and stood, staring back at her, all broad shoulders in black leather silhouetted against the blue late May sky.

"I'll miss you too." Carol said, fighting tears. She swore the side of Daryl's mouth quirked in a sad little smile and then he gave her hand a squeeze and released it so he could pull on his helmet. She stepped back and he mounted the bike and it roared to life. She watched the road until she couldn't see him anymore.

And that was the last time she saw him.

* * *

"We're meeting another person before we head over to the ferry." Michonne said. Honolulu airport was on the Big Island, but she lived on one of the smaller ones, taking the ferry to work every day. The big beach house that they had all chipped in to rent was about a half hour's drive from her apartment.

"Oh?" Carol said with deliberate nonchalance, wondering who it could be, but not playing Michonne's game. She had been adamant that Carol celebrate her divorce by finally coming for a visit, but oh so cagey about why this year the gathering of old housemates was so special.

"Flight got in a few minutes after yours—we should head down to luggage carousel seven." Michonne said, picking up one of Carol's carry-on bags and starting to head that way.

Carol pulled out the handle of her suitcase and slinging her other smaller carry-on over her shoulder took off after her friend.

"Don't you want to know who it is?" Michonne teased as Carol caught up to walk beside her.

"Well, you said Abe, Shane and Lori come in tomorrow—T-Dog, Andrea and Rick aren't due until the day after—that only leaves...Tyreese! He's coming?" Carol said happily. Ty was a sweetheart, but had been so busy in his career as a professional football player that they hardly ever got to see him in person these days.

"Ty will get here when he can; he was having some trouble canceling things." Michonne said as they made the turn into the number seven luggage area. "You're forgetting someone." She waved to a long lean cool drink of water in double denim and boots with shaggy dirty blonde hair and a goatee and mustache that framed his smile.

" _Daryl?"_ Carol croaked, dropping the handle of her suitcase which fell forward with a loud clunk.

The man in question grinned more broadly and grabbing up his duffle bag and back pack, strode towards them. As soon as he got close enough he tossed down his bags and enveloped Michonne in a big hug, lifting her off her feet.

"How the hell are you, Dixon?" Michonne said, laughingly patting at his back until he put her down.

"Do you know how fucking long it takes to _get_ here?" Daryl grumped good naturedly. "I think I could a' flown to the moon and back in less time!"

Michonne put one of her flower leis over his head and said _"Aloha,"_ finishing the greeting with the Continental style double kiss to his cheeks.

And then his eyes found Carol who seemed rooted to the floor, staring at them both in disbelief.

"Daryl? You remember—" Michonne began, but Daryl was already smiling and shaking his head in disbelief.

He took a tentative step forward and reached out his hand to gently grasp Carol's shoulder, in total contrast to the way he'd just grabbed up Michonne. Then he slowly reeled her in, as if luring some skittish wild doe, and she let him, until he had her in his arms.

" _I hoped you'd be here."_ Daryl whispered into her ear, rocking her gently. _"I've missed you."_

Carol's heart was beating so fast she felt the blood drain from her brain, literally felt it leave to flow south just to keep her upright. He was big and solid—the rest of him had more than caught up to what the promise of those shoulders had been on a nineteen year old. At thirty Daryl Dixon most definitely wasn't a shy kid anymore.

"Carol—he needs to get leied." Michonne said admonishingly and both heads turned to look at her in disbelief, Carol blushing and Daryl scowling. Michonne pointed at the two flower garlands Carol wore.

"You're supposed to give him a lei to welcome him." Michonne said, raising an eyebrow, "What did you think I meant?"

"That has got to be the oldest Hawaiian joke in the book." Daryl growled, rolling his eyes at her, but then looked expectantly at Carol, motioning her forward with a wave of his hand. "Okay, lei one on me."

"Lei off the puns!" Carol admonished him as she stood on tiptoes to put the flowers over his head.

"Lei lady lei?" Daryl tried.

Carol pursed her lips at him and gave him a narrow eyed stare of warning, to which he responded with a quickly smothered impish smile.

Remembering the rest of the greeting Michonne had given her, Carol pressed a kiss to his right cheek, on the clean shaven part above his scruff of a goatee, resting one hand against his chest for balance. She felt his quick intake of breath and met his eyes, which were wide and _so_ blue, and then his hands were spread over the small of her back, pulling her closer and his lips were on hers.

Carol forgot everything. Where they were, why they were there, what day it was, that she hadn't seen him in more than ten years, that she'd been married, that she had no idea if he might've been since she'd seen him last...none of that mattered. She was back in that old house in that dingy kitchen and the boy she liked was _kissing_ her. Only this time he wasn't drunk and this time there was the very real possibility that she wouldn't have to go back to her room alone tonight looking for fresh batteries.

" _Ahem?_ We have a ferry to catch?" Michonne's loud throat clearing brought an end to the kiss, but Daryl kept his arms around Carol, looking down at her intently.

" _Aloha...Welcome to paradise."_ Carol murmured, kissing his other cheek to finish the greeting.

"Paradise...Like the sound a' that." Daryl drawled and then released her.

The shuttle to the ferry and the ride itself was full of old friends catching up. Carol, who had majored in biology, worked as a test kitchen supervisor for a large pastry company in Atlanta, a job she'd taken over her husband's protests five years ago. Earning her own income had given her the needed push to finally leave him, but he had kept the divorce tied up in legal maneuvering for the last four years, chiefly over custody rights for their eight year old daughter, Sophia. Pictures were shown and the child admired in due course.

Daryl didn't share much beyond saying that he'd eventually gotten his business degree and now lived and worked in California, where he had his own company.

"Doing what?" Carol asked, curious as to what would hold his interest, wondering if it had given him the new sense of confidence he now carried himself with.

"Bikes." Daryl shrugged, and then seeing their looks of confusion, elaborated, "I design and build custom motorcycles for rich Hollywood pricks."

" _You're_ Dixon Customs?" Michonne asked, impressed. "One of your bikes was used on that TV show—the one with the zombies—the greasy redneck guy rides it!"

"Yeah, that's one of ours." Daryl nodded, "Had a hell of a time trying to figure out where to put the mount for th'damn crossbow."

Carol was frowning at the both of them.

"You've never seen it? You know: _Zombie Killers of the Apocalypse—_ it's on Sunday nights!" Michonne said. "Lotsa hot guys on it..." she teased, trying to tempt Carol.

"I have an eight year old. We don't do zombies." Carol said with a little pucker of disdain.

"We'll have to watch some of it when you're here—just to see Daryl's motorcycle of course." Michonne said deferentially to him.

"Right." Daryl snorted.

"I remember your bike—the one you had in college—it was a Triumph." Carol said. She would've given just about anything to have him ask her to take a ride on it with him, but he _never_ gave rides, he was always alone.

Daryl slowly nodded at her and Carol wondered if he remembered that last day at the house, saying goodbye by his bike.

"There's a couple of places you can rent scooters and motorcycles near the beach." Michonne said, "It's a fun way to tour the island. I'll point them out when we go by."

"Thanks, that'd be great." Daryl said, sounding excited, "I was thinking about renting a car to get around, but a bike would be even better."

The ferry started to slow and they could see the green of the palms and the white sandy beaches of the island ahead between the azure sky and sea.

"How can you live here?" Carol sighed. "It's so beautiful, _all_ the time..."

"It does rain occasionally." Michonne assured them.

"I get the same crap about living in LA." Daryl commiserated. "Good weather brings out the jealousy."

"Earthquakes." Carol said, "Don't get those much in Georgia."

"Tornadoes, rattlers, ticks and skeeters the size of a small dog." Daryl returned. "I grew up there too, remember?"

"We _all_ went to school there, Daryl." Michonne reminded him, and then she looked nostalgic, "This is the first time all of us will be back together since you left."

" _All?"_ Daryl said, frowning at her.

"Shane and Rick have finally buried the hatchet. Now that they're both over Lori and she's with Abe, we can have a reunion without the two of them having to take turns being there." Michonne told them.

"Rick's _here_?" Daryl asked, and Carol thought he sounded more like his old shy self in the asking.

"Not until tomorrow." Michonne said and then looked at him in puzzlement, "I thought you guys stayed in touch."

"It's been...awhile..." Daryl said vaguely.

Carol wanted to ask what had happened—they had been like brothers back in school, but she could tell he was uncomfortable. Since she'd moved to Atlanta she only got back to her home town of Senoia once a year to plant flowers on her parents' graves. She'd met up with Rick, who lived and worked there as a firefighter, a couple of times for coffee, but Ed's private detectives had made it seem like an illicit assignation. She'd been advised by her lawyers to stop seeing and talking to him, telling Rick she was sorry, but her daughter came first.

Before she'd been forced to cut off contact, she'd asked Rick about Daryl. They must have still been in touch at that time because she'd gotten a few details. Daryl had to drop out to care for his terminally ill father, working part time in a garage to supplement the disability checks and insurance. His brother was off somewhere overseas in the military and Daryl was the only remaining family member, his mother having passed away years ago in a fire. Carol had felt sorry for the quiet boy forced by circumstance to abandon his dreams, but respected him for the choice to put family first.

"I'm sure he'll be glad to see you." Carol assured Daryl, but he just looked more uncomfortable, raising his thumb to his mouth to gnaw on the cuticle in a familiar gesture, gazing out over the water to the shore.

"We're here!" Michonne announced and they gathered up their things to head off the ferry to the parking lot where Michonne had left her car.

As they drove Michonne pointed out various sites, including her apartment building, favorite grocery and restaurants as well as the motorcycle rental places she'd talked about. She'd already stocked the beach house with food and drink, so when they arrived she set to work making lunch while they settled in to their rooms.

Since they had first pick, Carol chose a smaller room, but the ocean view and balcony overlooking the ocean compensated for it. She showered and changed into a more casual blouse and Capri's and wandered out onto her balcony to let her hair dry in the ocean breeze. Daryl picked the room next door, which she found out when standing staring out at the waves lapping the shore.

"Beautiful." Daryl said, his voice warm and low.

"Yes it is," Carol said, turning to him, standing on the balcony next door, but he wasn't looking at the water. Carol blushed when she saw the desire in his eyes.

He'd taken off his jacket and shirt and was leaning one hip against the railing. He'd always been fit, thin and wiry, but now he was all solid looking muscle, powerful biceps, defined chest and abs tapering to narrow hips in his low slung jeans. A sprinkling of red blonde hair covered his chest and then narrowed to a strip that disappeared below his belt line. A couple of interesting tattoos also gave him a look of untamed dangerous masculinity. If she'd been attracted to the kid he'd been, the man was almost overwhelmingly irresistible.

At first she thought he was smoking one of those e-cigarettes when she saw the white stick in his hand, but realized it was the stick of a Tootsie-Pop when he took a long slow lick of it.

"I used the patch and the gum too, but these help with the oral fixation...I got a _wicked_ one of those." Daryl drawled, popping the sucker back in his mouth.

"You...you quit smoking?" Carol said, her voice a bit squeaky. The way he was licking and working that cherry red lollipop in his mouth was jacking up her heart rate. He hadn't smoked when she'd known him, but it had been a long time.

Daryl nodded.

"About six months ago. Got to where I couldn't catch my breath on a run, woke up with a headache every morning 'til I had my nicotine fix, my clothes stank, my car stank—it sucked." he told her.

Six months ago was also when Michonne had contacted them all about this reunion. Carol wondered if that had anything to do with his decision...

"Why did you start?" Carol wondered aloud.

"Back when I hated the world... and myself..." Daryl said cryptically and then pushed off the railing. "I'm gonna grab a shower before lunch, wash the travel off me."

"Sounds like a good idea." Carol said, flushing at the thought of him hot, steamy and wet...

"Care to join me?" Daryl said casually, as if he was asking if she wanted a cup of coffee, and then smirked at her deer in the headlights stare.

"Carol! Daryl! Lunch is ready!" Michonne called from downstairs.

Carol fled.

"Sweet little Carol..." Daryl mused, enjoying the chase. He'd waited a long time to feel ready to find her again; to feel worthy of her. She was his ideal, his perfect girl... _woman_ now. No one else came close. When Rick told him she was marrying that ass hat Pelletier, he'd wanted to go to her, talk her out of it, tell her how he felt, but Rick had talked _him_ out of it. At that time Daryl was in no position to offer her the kind of life that Ed could. He was a broke, part time car mechanic without a degree tied to a Podunk town caring for his sick old man.

He'd later come to realize it wasn't just Rick's concern for Carol's well being that had motivated him to warn Daryl off. That realization had been the reason they hadn't spoken in eight years.

And now they were _both_ going to be here, forcing him to finally deal with his demons, the ones that had haunted him since that big old house in Georgia all those years ago. He had one night to show Carol how he felt about her before Rick arrived—he hoped that was enough.

* * *

After lunch Michonne dropped them off at the rental shop, saying she'd remembered some tax work she'd left at her apartment that had to be done tonight and filed, so she'd stay there until it was done. She gave Daryl a wink behind Carol's back, letting him know she was getting out of his way so he could be alone with Carol. He mouthed a thank you and gave her quick a kiss on the cheek and then she was on her way.

The owner recognized Daryl's name from an article that had been done on his L.A. shop in one of the trade publications and as a result they left with the top of the line Harley he had on the premises. Armed with a map of the island they spent the rest of the afternoon combating their jet lag by exploring some of the places the rental guy recommended. When they got back to the beach house it was dusk so they walked down to the shore with a blanket and some snacks Michonne had left them in the fridge along with a choice of wines, the note attached to the picnic read _"Enjoy!"_ in her elegant hand.

"Are you happy now, Carol?" Daryl asked, taking a sip of his wine, a nice crisp white.

They were sitting next to one another on the blanket, looking at the sunset, about half the food and wine gone.

"Right now? This minute?" she smiled over at him lazily. Finally getting to climb up behind him on that bike today had been as exciting as she'd always imagined. He'd been so relaxed and confident, showing off what the big machine could do; the ease with which he handled it second nature to him. Holding on, her arms around his waist, feeling his heat and his deep even breathing, she felt like she'd always done this, always just been _with_ him like this.

Carol had just enough buzz from the wine to let herself openly appreciate how his t-shirt was stretched tight over all of those muscles. He'd taken off his boots and rolled up his jeans when they'd walked along the shore. He looked relaxed and yet there was this underlying sense of _waiting_ in how he held himself.

"In your life..." Daryl said, reaching out to wrap one of her corkscrew curls around his finger. His fingers brushed her cheek and she leaned into them, closing her eyes.

"More than I've been in a long time." Carol said dreamily.

"Do you need to talk about it?" Daryl asked, with understanding. "The unhappy parts?"

"He wasn't who I thought he was." Carol replied, opening her eyes. "He hurt me. I got out when he tried to hurt our daughter. Michonne and Andrea helped. I'm okay now."

"I'm sorry." Daryl said, rubbing his thumb across her cheek.

"For what?" Carol said, giving him a little shrug and smile "None of it's your fault."

"Sorry for not doing _this_ eleven years ago." Daryl said softly and leaned in, tilting his head so he could kiss her, deepening it and taking her in his arms to lower her onto the blanket, pulling her in tight against him, his strong thigh fitting between hers.

" _Daryl..."_ Carol's breathy exhalation of his name when he moved the kisses to her neck made his dick press tight against his fly. Her tender pale freckled skin tasted like coconut and lime, sweet and tart on his tongue.

"I want you Carol...I've always wanted you...too stupid to do anything about it until it was too late..." Daryl growled all in a rush. " _My_ fault he hurt you..."

"Daryl, no—it's over, done, it doesn't matter." Carol told him, holding his head to her.

"Let me show you—show you how sorry I am..." he licked at the v of her cleavage, his mouth hot and wet on her, rocking his muscular thigh against her core, making her gasp at the rush of sensation.

" _Yes."_ she moaned and then his mouth was back on hers, nipping at her lower lip and then plunging his tongue inside. Then he abruptly stopped and she fell back, gasping.

"Come on—let's go back inside—don't exactly want sand in unmentionable places." he told her in a light tone.

"Experience talking?" Carol asked, trying to catch her breath as he helped her up.

"This _ain't_ my first rodeo." Daryl gave her a sultry look, but then frowned when she dropped his hand and stepped back, blushing again.

"This is actually only my second." Carol said, pushing her disheveled hair back off her face and looking at her feet.

"You only ever slept with _Ed_?" Daryl asked, sounding incredulous.

Carol nodded yes, still not looking at him.

" _Damn_ , woman..." Daryl said. "Well, that makes the sexual history potion of the evening a bit shorter." he murmured.

"What about you?" Carol asked, wondering how the shy boy she'd known _had_ gotten so polished in his moves. Was he some Hollywood player now?

"I never slept with Ed." Daryl said, popping Carol's head up like a puppet on a string, a flash of walking in on him and Rick asleep in his bed immediately crowding her thoughts.

At her wide eyed expression he took a step towards her and took her hands in his right one and the other went under her chin.

"Hey-kidding, Carol, kidding!" Daryl said soothingly, and then teased, "He's not my type."

"Who is?" Carol asked.

"Besides you?" he smiled and kissed her forehead. "I was no monk, sweetheart. I've had my share...probably _more_ than my share of lovers...but I've been safe, been tested regular. I have protection; I'll take care of you. Not on the Pill or anything I assume?"

Carol shook her head no. She had been, secretly, ever since Ed had first become violent in their marriage. Sophia had been an accident, a happy one to be sure, she loved her child fiercely, but she hadn't wanted to bring any children into that home. She'd been glad to go off the medication after she'd left Ed and since she hadn't dated during their separation while he fought the divorce for fear he'd use it against her, she'd never gone back on.

"I got tested too...he...Ed...He wasn't faithful." Carol said quietly. And the pain in her voice told Daryl more than he wanted to know about how hard her marriage had been on her sexual self-confidence.

Daryl pulled her into a tight hug, his anger at how badly he'd fucked up by listening to Rick and not going after her back then eating him up inside.

"Let me make it good for you? Okay?" Daryl asked, his voice growing hoarse with emotion.

" _Okay."_ Carol said, feeling a thrill as if she was back on that big Harley, going so fast it took her breath away, holding onto him for dear life; hoping that maybe the dreams she'd set aside so long ago were suddenly back within her reach...

* * *

Two more chapters I think! Thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

_This is the Rickyl heavy chapter. If you don't like slash, be forewarned. It starts the day after Carol's brief encounter with Daryl and Rick in the kitchen back in college and then flashes back from there to explain what's going on with the two of them. Daryl/OC/Rick at one point as well, but actually ends well for Caryl._

* * *

2.

"You n' me were drunk, it didn't mean anything." Daryl said harshly, his head in his hands, sitting on the side of his bed. The room was all packed up except for his bedclothes and pillow. He was leaving today for home and not coming back next fall.

"You keep tellin' yourself that." Rick said, tossing the towel he'd been using to dry his hair down on the back of his desk chair and then flopping down on the bed next to Daryl, running his hand down the other man's back.

"Fuck off." Daryl bit out, shrugging the hand away.

"You don't think _she_ was into it? If Ty and 'chonne hadn't come in, we could've had pretty little Carol right there on the kitchen table." Rick said hoarsely, right into Daryl's ear, his breath hot, his hand moving back in and tightening on Daryl's neck.

"Don't bring her into this...whatever this... fucked up thing was we had goin' on here." Daryl said, pushing Rick away so he could get up and pace the floor.

"You're in love with her, aren't you?" Rick asked, his voice flat.

" _Stop."_ Daryl said, a sharp command, glaring at Rick who was reclining on the bed now, all long lean limbs and burning blue eyes. The towel he had wrapped around him from his shower rode high on his thighs and low on his hips showing off his six pack abs.

"You say _her_ name." Rick told him, his voice wicked and rasping, "When you _come._ "

" _Damn you to hell."_ Daryl groaned, closing his eyes.

* * *

It had started that night when the whole thing with Lori and Shane happened a few months ago, when Rick had his heart broken and all of his plans for the future shattered...

As soon as he'd heard about it, Daryl had gone looking for Rick. He knew his friend would be devastated, betrayed by the person he trusted most in this world and someone he'd counted as a good friend. He found his roommate sitting on the roof gable outside their room with a bottle of Jack and a gun.

Until then he'd never had reason to question Rick's mental stability. They'd been friends since freshman year; roommates since sophomore. Rick was the only person he'd felt close enough to tell about his past, his family situation, his mother's death, his brother's stint in Juvie and then given the choice of prison or the military,...his father's abuse.

Rick was the best friend he'd ever had and his stable loving home had been where Daryl was welcomed every holiday and vacation. He was having a hard time getting his head around the idea that Rick would throw away that good life over some girl breaking up with him.

Daryl had climbed out on the roof and helped him drink down the bottle, finally getting the gun away from him when he passed out. He got him back inside, but Rick roused and wouldn't let go of him when he tried to drop him onto his bed, pulling him down with him so Daryl just gave up and closed his eyes.

"Than' you, man... _love_ you man..." Rick mumbled, hugging Daryl close, pressing his face into Daryl's neck.

"Jus' go t'sleep." Daryl muttered, drowsy with drink, letting the warmth of being held by someone in bed for the first time ever seep into his bones. It felt good, a comfort he'd never known in his achingly lonely childhood.

"Wanna thank ya, Darl—saved m' life..." Rick kept on, "You love me—Lori don' love me—fuckin' Shane...I fuck better n' Shane...kiss better n' him..."

And then Daryl felt Rick's lips on his throat, warm and tender, sliding up over his smooth jaw and then to his lips. He tasted whiskey and coffee and then Rick's tongue slipped inside to slide and move with his. Daryl felt Rick's hand close over his cock, stroking it through the soft cotton of his sweats.

No one had ever made him feel like this, hot and sticky and dizzy and _good_...what was happening felt so damn _good._ He was hard as marble and pushed his hips against the hand that was touching him, needing more stimulation than he was getting.

Rick's hand lifted and then slipped loose the strings of the pants and pushed them down over Daryl's hips, exposing him all the way to his balls, groaning as he felt the slick on the tip, covering it with his palm to slide it back over the shaft, the lubrication helping his stroke.

Daryl whimpered as Rick pushed him onto his back and pulled up his t-shirt so he could lick, suck and bite at his nipples, gentle and demanding, keeping up his hand's slow torturous stroke. He kissed down Daryl's flat belly, using his other hand to cup and knead the hanging round smooth globes below that were starting to draw up tighter.

When he felt the wet heat close over the head of his dick Daryl didn't know what was happening, just that he was approaching ecstasy, the pressure in his balls building, his breath coming in gasps, his dick the center of the universe, everything focused on that building roaring fucking agonizing _pleasure_ trying to burst out of him.

" _Fuuuuuck!"_ Daryl roared and pumped his hips up rapidly, the decadent explosive shooting release into that wet tight sucking warmth slamming into him so hard that the room was spinning. When he came back to himself, panting like he'd run a marathon, he felt a warm tugging on his now soft cock and looking down, realized Rick was licking him clean.

" _Fuck_. What th' fuck did you just _do_?" Daryl asked, dazed, looking around to make sure they were alone and in their room.

"Liked it din ya?" Rick asked, his eyes sleepy, pulling Daryl's pants up and his shirt back down and laying his head sideways on Daryl's abdomen before closing his eyes. "Then jus' go t'sleep n' don' worry' bout it."

* * *

For the next week Daryl tried to forget it had happened. He didn't know what to make of it. Did it mean he was gay? Was Rick? He knew Rick fucked girls—Lori and a couple others before her. Even though he hadn't yet gotten laid, Daryl knew his dick came to attention every time he watched Carol Mason's hips and fine ass sway up the stairs ahead of him... Maybe he should just go find a girl to fuck and see what happened. But he couldn't ask anybody in the house; that could get awkward as hell and he wasn't looking for a relationship, just a confirmation that he could get it up for a woman...

The problem was there was a reason he was still a virgin at nineteen, the same reason for his crippling shyness. Daryl reached over his shoulder to feel the ropy scar tissue that marred it and most of the rest of his back, the remnants of his childhood that no amount of friendship or time could erase.

When Daryl came back to their room exactly one week after what Rick had done, after his work shift at the gas station in town, he grabbed his things to go take a long shower. As he had done every day for the last week, he jerked off under the heated stream to try and tame the constant hard on he seemed to be sporting these days. When he got back to their room he immediately saw that Rick had rearranged it, pushing both twin beds together at the center. Seeing red he slammed the door behind him and then saw that Rick wasn't alone.

"Daryl, this is Jessie." Rick said, grinning up at him as if he'd just announced that Daryl had won the lottery.

The pretty green eyed blonde was sitting on Rick's lap, dressed in jean shorts and a Def Leppard concert t-shirt. Her feet were bare and her legs crossed so she was swinging one of them as she looked Daryl up and down.

"You were right, he is cute." Jessie said approvingly, hopping up off of Rick's lap and sauntering over to Daryl who frowned at her appraising stare.

"Jessie wanted to meet you real bad, Daryl." Rick said, leaning back in his chair and putting his arms behind his head. Daryl saw that his jeans were unbuttoned, his fly half down and he was sporting a pretty good sized erection. He and Jessie must've already gotten started while Daryl was in the shower.

"What do you want, Rick?" Daryl asked, unsure what the dark and hungry look in his friend's eyes portended.

"You...and her..." Rick said, nodding towards the pushed together beds.

"You want to watch us _fuck_?" Daryl asked, grunting out an incredulous laugh.

"Thought you'd be more comfortable if it wasn't just _us_." Rick said, tilting his head to the side, watching for Daryl's reaction.

"Are you _high_?" Daryl scoffed, but felt his dick grow hard.

"Stone cold sober, my friend." Rick said, "It's all good—Jessie is down for it—right honey?"

"I don't believe in socially imposed moral constraints." the young woman said easily, "I like sex, I like fucking Rick, and I've always wanted to be with two guys." she came closer, tugging on the belt tie of Daryl's robe, "I'm twenty-five, I've got a whole box of condoms, plenty of lube and a clean bill of health. Rick says you're a virgin, which makes me so _wet_ you can't imagine... Anything else you need to know?"

Daryl stared at the young woman, weighing what she'd said, and then he visibly relaxed and smirked.

"What's your major?"

Rick and Jessie laughed at that.

"I'm a grad student in Gender Studies, thanks for asking." Jessie said and then she looked over at Rick, silently asking what to do next. He nodded at Daryl and motioned her towards the bed.

Jessie finished untying Daryl's robe, sighing when she found him bare beneath it.

"So pretty..." she murmured, pushing his robe off his shoulders to fall to the floor. She walked all the way around him and he stiffened, waiting for her to say something about his scars, but she didn't. Whether Rick had forewarned her or she was sensitive enough to know they might be an issue, he was grateful to her. Jessie gave him a playful little pinch on the ass and then came back around to the front.

Daryl trembled as she ran her hands up his chest, pinching his nipples, making him moan a little. She pulled off her own shirt then and just as quickly shed her bra and shorts and then stepped into him, her heavy breasts brushing against his chest, his erect cock nestled to her belly.

"Bed." Rick ordered, and Jessie pushed Daryl back onto the joined beds and climbed over him...

The next morning after Jessie was gone, Daryl knew without a doubt that he enjoyed fucking women. Rick had gotten off on watching him with her; acted as more of a tutor than a participant in the experience except when he stepped in and had taught him how to go down on her. While he demonstrated, Daryl couldn't help but think of what Rick had done for him, wondering if it felt the same for a woman as it had for him...

Jessie told him she'd never had a better time in bed, but eventually she wanted them _both_ , and if he didn't get what she was talking about Rick would explain it.

The three of them got together like that at least once a week, and in between, Daryl lived in anticipation of it. He had never felt so sexually charged in his life. Outside he was still quiet and shy, but inside he was constantly seething with the need to get off.

The third time she was with them, Jessie asked them to kiss, saying it got her hot to see two guys go at it. Then she had started stroking Daryl, getting him harder while Rick plundered his mouth. At the same time, Rick's hand joined hers to fondle and grip Daryl's cock. Deep in a sexual haze, not caring who touched him as long as they did it right, Daryl didn't know which one of their mouths he came inside or whose was sucking on his balls, he was just lost to the orgasm...

* * *

The day that Daryl's father's social worker called to tell him the terminal diagnosis and laid out what would be needed for his care, Daryl thought he knew how Rick had felt when he went out on the roof with the bottle and the gun. He'd have to quit school, leave everything good he'd ever had in his life and go back and live with the man who had brutalized him his whole childhood.

Rick found him curled in his bed, almost comatose with grief.

Daryl just wanted to feel something, anything but the crippling loss. Everything that had happened between them, all of the sexual excesses with Jessie, the freedom to experiment with no guilt had worn down his inhibitions, leaving Daryl open to what Rick had wanted all along.

Rick had loved both men and women before, for him it wasn't the gender, it was the person. He knew he loved Daryl, but he knew Daryl wasn't into men. As their friendship had deepened, he found it harder and harder to resist his physical craving for him. After he had broken up with Lori, he was free to act on that attraction. If he had to share him with a woman to have him sexually he was willing to do it. Jessie was the perfect third, understanding her place as a go between, letting Daryl get comfortable with sex and _being_ sexual with both of them.

Crawling into bed naked with Daryl, Rick held him and comforted him while he wept, kissing away his tears, caressing him in the ways he'd always wanted to, lovingly. Daryl responded, needy but angry, taking out his frustration with biting kisses while Rick started jerking him off, dominant in a way that thrilled Rick.

" _I want you to fuck me,"_ Rick said, giving one last slow tug and then grabbing the bottle of lube and a condom and shoving them at Daryl.

" _I don't wanna hurt you."_ Daryl said and hesitated, his hard-on bouncing up against his belly, heavy and thick, his head buzzing.

" _Yes, you do. You want to punish me for making you feel this way—punish him for hurting you too—do it, I_ _want_ _it..."_ Rick whispered, _"You know what to do."_

They'd talked about it, with Jessie, what it was what she wanted, both of them inside her, how to do it...

"It's what I want, Daryl, _please_." Rick begged, knowing he may not ever get another chance to have this, that it would probably never happen again.

When he _came_ with his dick inside the best friend he'd ever had, weeping because his world was crumbling and he wanted to give Rick back something for _being_ that to him, Daryl said the name of the person he really wanted, the person he had been falling in love with since the moment he'd met her, the one he wanted to be with most in the world.

" _Carol..."_

* * *

It had never happened again.

Daryl called a halt to it after that night, _all_ of it, Jessie too, anything more than friendship between them was off limits. He worked extra shifts at the gas station and then took a second job at food service, trying to build up a little savings for things like gas and parts for his bike. He knew there would be no cash for extras like that once he moved home at the end of the term.

Rick knew that Carol was attracted to Daryl as much as he was to her. If she ever found out that Daryl was in love with her, it would be the end of any chance he had with him. He'd kept them apart since he'd learned how Daryl felt about her and it was finally the end of the semester when they'd be parting ways. He'd deliberately gotten Daryl drunk last night and steered him into the kitchen after priming him by talking about how perfect Carol's ass was and how nice it would be to have it.

When Rick had seen that instead of being frightened away like the little mouse she'd always appeared to be, Carol had actually _responded_ to Daryl's clumsy come on, he'd had to step in and push the issue. She was Daryl's perfect innocent flower, worshiped from afar, too good for him to even talk to when he was sober. If they'd shared her, Daryl would've been so messed up about it that it would have the same effect, he'd be too ashamed to face her.

The way it had gone down had actually been perfect. Daryl's guilt over what had _almost_ happened would keep his mouth shut and after tomorrow he'd never have to see her again.

 _It really was better this way_ , Rick thought. He liked Carol. Carol was a sweet and lovely girl. She'd find some big dumb lug of a man, get married, have 2.5 children and live happily ever after in some boring suburb.

Everything had gone just fine until somehow Daryl had found out that she was marrying Pelletier after graduation. He got all puffed up about wanting to go warn her off the guy, who had a bit of a sketchy reputation in certain corners. It had taken a lot of fast talking and some head games he wasn't too proud of for Rick to convince Daryl she would be better off without him.

When Carol was safely married and had just had her first child, about as permanently out of bounds as the woman could get, Rick had showed up at Daryl's workplace, bringing the birth announcement she had sent all her old college friends she was still in touch with.

"It's over Daryl." Rick said, "She's moved on with her life, isn't it time you did too?"

"This _is_ my life." Daryl had said, wiping at the black grease on his hands with a rag and tossing it back on a work bench. "Ten hours a week here while the home hospice people watch him so I don't go fuckin' stir crazy in that house taking care of that old bastard."

"I can move here—get a transfer, _help_ you." Rick said, putting his hand on Daryl's shoulder and letting it drift down over his bicep in a touch that was more caress than anything. "You don't have to do this _alone_."

Daryl looked at Rick, saw the _need_ on his face clearly, finally recognizing it for what it was. He stepped back, forcing Rick to let go of his arm.

"And all this time I thought I'd never let _you_ fuck _me..."_ Daryl said with a self deprecating laugh and then huffed out a sigh. "But you fucked me over just the same, didn't you old friend? That's why you told me to let her marry him. Not because I wasn't good enough...I was plenty good enough...for _you_..."

"Daryl...Daryl, please!" Rick pleaded, panicked now.

Daryl's face went stone cold.

"Goodbye Rick."

"No...don't do this! _I love you_." Rick said, his throat clogged with tears.

"No. _You_ _want to_ _have_ _me_. If you _loved_ me you would've wanted me to be _happy_ , instead of ruining the best chance I had to find love." Daryl said in icy accusation.

Rick knew he was right, knew how he'd twisted any feelings he'd had for Daryl into obsession.

"It's over Rick. I've moved on with my life, it's time you did too." Daryl said, repeating what Rick had just said to him about Carol.

"I'm sorry, brother." Rick said softly, bowing his head and backing away before turning and going out the door.

* * *

Eight years later, when he'd gotten the e-vite from Michonne about the ten year reunion, Rick Grimes had picked up the phone and called her.

"Did you invite Carol?" Rick asked, surprising Michonne. In past years he'd begged off because of Shane and Lori, but now that they were divorced she hadn't expected him to have an issue with anyone else.

"Yes. She needs a break now that all of that sturm and drang with her divorce is finally over." Michonne said, her curiosity piqued. "Why? You interested?"

"How about Daryl?" Rick asked, ignoring the question.

"I tried a snail mail invite to his dad's place, but it came back return to sender/no forwarding address, why? Do you have his contact information?" Michonne asked hopefully.

"I'll text you his e-mail." Rick said. He'd had it since Daryl had moved to L.A. He'd never used it, but he'd gotten it after tracking down the n'er do well brother, Merle, and paying off a few gambling debts for him.

"Really? That would be great! Carol had a real thing for him back then, you know!" Michonne said excitedly.

"Yeah," Rick said, smiling into a sigh, "I know."

* * *

 _You make it through that okay? I tried not to go too graphic with the slash stuff._

 _Yes, Rick was really a shit, wasn't he? He took advantage of Daryl and Carol's belief in his friendship and their naivete about his motives and took what he wanted from Daryl, shutting Carol out of his life...hmmn, why does that sound so familiar?_

 _He did redeem himself there a bit at the end though..._


	3. Chapter 3

_Back to Caryl for the smuttiness and some important truths._

* * *

3.

"Hey—slow down—this isn't a race." Daryl admonished gently, covering Carol's shaking hands with his own to stop her frantic attempt to undo her uncooperative blouse buttons.

They had come back into the house from the beach and had gone first to the kitchen to put away the left-over food. He was pouring them more wine when he'd turned back around and saw her nervously trying to get undressed. Setting down the glasses he went to her.

"Sorry..." Carol murmured, thinking she would die of embarrassment right there and then. She felt ill-equipped to attempt any sort of seductive moves and so her practical mind had concluded that to have sex one had to remove one's _clothing_ first.

"Nothing to be sorry for." Daryl grinned. "I just want to take my time discovering what _you_ like...I'm not a _throw you up against a tree in the moonlight for a quick fuck_ kinda guy...I'm more a _go down on her until she passes out from how many orgasms I give her_ _first _ kinda guy."

" _Oh."_ Carol said with a cute little nose wrinkling smile.

Daryl placed a quick kiss onto the tip of that nose and then reached back for the wine and handed her a glass. He took a long sip and tilted his head at her.

"Can I ask you something?"

Carol nodded in mid-swallow of the drink she'd just taken of her wine.

"When we were out on the balcony earlier—you didn't say anything about my back." Daryl said, a bit of that old insecurity seeping into his voice. He didn't really think about his scars any more. They'd long since stopped being a symbol of his father's power over him. But people usually reacted when they saw them for the first time and she hadn't.

"The tattoos are new—I like them." Carol said with a little smile.

"That's not what I meant." Daryl said, his brow wrinkling into a frown.

"I've seen them before, Daryl." Carol told him gently.

"When?" he asked, surprised. He'd never gone shirtless back when he'd known her. Even the few times he'd let them talk him into going swimming at the lake; he'd always kept a t-shirt on, saying he was allergic to too much sun.

"The night Rick and Lori broke up." Carol said, watching him closely.

" _What?"_ Daryl said, his mouth going dry.

"I went to check on him, I was worried about him. You were already there with him. Your shirt was all rucked up in back. I saw the scars." Carol said, feeling her cheeks heat up but keeping her eyes on his. That wasn't all she'd seen that night. He and Rick had their arms around each other, Rick's head resting on Daryl's, both of them deeply asleep.

Daryl looked at her frank open gaze with that hint of a challenge in it. Had they really been so out of it they hadn't known she was there? What else had she seen?

"He was your best friend. He was hurting. You were there for him." Carol said. At the time she'd been confused, but now, older and wiser to the ways of the world, if not from personal experience, she thought she understood.

"Shit...Carol..." Daryl said, realizing that this conversation had just gone somewhere he'd never intended.

"In the kitchen that night...you'd done that before, hadn't you? Both of you with one girl?" Carol asked evenly, shocking him even more.

Daryl's mouth came open, panicked, feeling it all slipping away from him, trying to come up with some believable lie that would explain it all away, what she'd seen, what they'd done. He looked at her but saw no approbation, no anger, just curiosity.

"Yes." Daryl heard himself answer. He didn't want any lies between them.

"I thought so." Carol said, nodding thoughtfully.

"Only with...with _one_ girl...only a few times that year." Daryl told her, wondering if Carol had ever met Jessie. Most people in the house believed she and Rick were dating and she sometimes came to house parties with him, so probably.

"And you and Rick?" Carol asked.

"Me and Rick?" Daryl swallowed audibly.

"I saw you in bed together that night, Daryl." Carol said, her chin jutting forward in challenge, " _Without_ the girl."

Daryl had never told another living soul what had gone on between him and Rick when they were alone that year. He wasn't ashamed of it; he knew why it had happened. He'd been vulnerable, naïve, sexually inexperienced and had let his strong feelings of gratitude and yes _, love_ for Rick be used to manipulate him. But how Carol would react to hearing everything, the last of it? He had no idea. Maybe Rick's plan all along had been to have this truth waiting, like an unexploded landmine, to destroy any feelings she had for him.

Daryl leaned back against the counter, looking at the floor before he spoke again.

"I'd never...I'd never been with _anyone_ that way _..._ we were drunk, he got me off...it went from there...he brought the girl into it... I was a virgin, it was too much...I ended up fucking them both..." Daryl sighed, still looking at the irregular patterns in the wood grain of the floor boards, not ready to see her disgust and dismissal.

Her hand on his shoulder drew his head up. Daryl met her eyes and saw only understanding. His breath burst out of him in a rush and he grabbed her to him in a crushing hug.

Carol rubbed circles on his back, feeling the raised irregular patterns of the scars someone had left on his skin, knowing now for sure that he had them on the _inside_ too.

"Were you in love?" Carol asked him gently. She knew how close he and Rick had been; how important the relationship was to them both.

"He was. With me." Daryl said, grimacing,"In the end it got pretty fucked up."

"Why?"

"Honestly?' Daryl said, kissing her forehead before resting his chin on it, "Because of you."

"Me?" Carol asked, her heart beating faster.

"He knew I was in love with you." Daryl said. It wasn't how he'd intended to tell her that. He'd wanted it to be after he'd spent hours _making_ love to her, convincing her how he felt.

" _What?"_ Carol pushed against his chest. What he had said out on the beach was only about _wanting_ her, wishing _they'd_ slept together back then...

Daryl let her pull back, but kept his arms around her, needing the contact, needing to touch her.

"I didn't have anything to offer you...I was a poor as dirt, scarred up drop out...I wasn't what you deserved back then..." Daryl tried to explain.

"And I didn't care about _any_ of that." Carol said, sounding angry now, her volume rising. "You were a good person, Daryl—you worked harder than anyone I knew. You were smart and shy and sweet and beautiful and I _loved_ you."

Now she looked spitting mad, her eyes flashing up at him. Daryl sputtered at her revelation and then she was kissing him, her hands grabbing at his hair to pull his face to hers, biting his lower lip so he opened his mouth in a gasp and then thrusting her tongue home, making him groan and twine himself around her, staggering and banging into the kitchen cabinets to keep from falling down.

Putting his hands under her ass he lifted her and she wrapped her legs around him, continuing to devour his mouth, and he stumbled out into the living room with its floor to ceiling windows overlooking the ocean, the moonlight shining across the sparkling waters. By sheer luck he found the big couch facing out towards the windows and lay her down on it, coming down on top of her, making her give a little _oof!_ as she felt his weight press into her.

"Smooth, Dixon, squash the woman." Daryl apologized, rolling to the side so she was facing him, giggling. "I really am good at this...usually..." he added, but he felt like he was nineteen again, with her, all clumsy and shy. He felt a sudden wave of regret, wishing that their first times _had_ been with each other...

"It's our first time; we'll get better at it." Carol said teasingly, so closely mirroring his thoughts he had to kiss her. She let her hands roam over his shoulders and down the sculpted bulge of his biceps under the smooth cotton of his shirt, her fingers spread wide to grip them as they flexed along with the movements of his hands on her body.

Daryl was marveling at her strength and simultaneous softness; he could feel the hard little bunches of muscles in her back and that magnificent ass, but any place he touched skin she was as delicate and smooth as alabaster. He needed more, to feel all of that skin against all of his, to touch and taste and seek satisfaction for them both. He also needed condoms, sooner rather than later.

"Stay here or find a bed?" Daryl asked when they came up for air.

"Condoms in your room?" Carol asked, all practicality, pushing her hair behind her ears, but one long curl escaped to hang down in her face. She blew at it, trying to dislodge it, but it simply fell back, exactly where it had been, making her frown in annoyance.

Daryl grinned at her and stood, pulling her up into a bridal style carry, heading for his room.

"Wait." Carol said and he stopped, looking down at her inquiringly.

"Do we want the wine?" she gestured vaguely towards the kitchen.

"Thinkin' of getting me drunk and having your way with me?" Daryl teased, but then sobered, realizing that was perilously close to what had happened that first time with Rick. They'd both been drunk though, hadn't they? That meant it wasn't the same. It wasn't like date rape...he hadn't fought what Rick had done...but had he consented?

"Daryl?" Carol asked, worried at how troubled he looked.

"Sorry—just realized that's not so funny." Daryl said, pushing the other thoughts away.

"No...I guess it's not." Carol murmured, putting her hand on his chest over his heart. "Are you okay?"

"Gotta be—I'm here with you, right?" he said, his expression clearing and settling into one of warm desire.

"Bedroom." Carol said in agreement, and he continued down the hall to his room.

* * *

"Ohhh...oh my God...that's...oh, why does that? _Oh Jesus, Daryl_!" Carol's voice was hoarse, raw. She'd awoken with his face buried in her ass, his long tongue licking her over and over and now he was working one finger slowly into her tight rear passage while he sucked on her clit and pumped his thumb in and out of her soaked pussy.

He was trying to kill her.

Carol had lost count of how many orgasms she'd had since they had started. True to his word, Daryl had gone down first; showing off a skill in oral technique that she'd thought only existed in fiction or her fantasies. He'd kissed her all over, sucking on her toes—who in the hell knew that would be something that got her wet?—and told her the soft brush of her hair against his belly and cock when she'd taken him in her mouth had been one of the most sensuous things he'd ever felt.

He'd stared into her eyes, demanding she keep them open as he'd worked the broad head of his cock into her, slowly filling her in an easy slide through the slick sweetness he'd created with his mouth and fingers beforehand. They fit, like hand in glove. She totally sheathed his length, his girth stretching her, enhancing her pleasure before he even started to move.

He'd fluttered his fingers over her clit as he started to slowly pump his hips up and back, driving her to her climax even as he worked towards his own. She tried to tell him he didn't have to, that he should just...what? Focus on his own business? But he laughed at her, telling her he wanted to feel her come around him, feel her tighten and throb for him while he emptied himself into her, balls deep and aching.

 _Sweet talker_.

And now this. He was obsessed with her ass. Told her he had been since college. He'd kissed and licked it all over; jerked _off_ on it—which she hadn't thought she'd enjoy, but had, especially with the desperate whimpers he made while pleasuring himself and the gentle way he'd cleaned her afterwards—and now he was breaching her virgin rear, something she'd never allowed her husband to even get close to.

He'd made sure it was well lubricated, the nerve endings sending shivers of pleasure through her center as he had pushed the tip of his tongue past the tight ring of tissue at the entrance. The finger he was using now stretched her more, pleasure bordering on pain. He pulled back, drawing more moisture from her core with his tongue and then gently placed the tip of the finger against it again and pushed back in. The repeated rapid shallow penetrations were making her squirm and cry out, pushing back against the invading digit, forcing it knuckle deep into her ass. Taking the cue he continued to pump it in and out that deep over and over as she wailed.

Daryl made a low growling sound deep in his throat as he felt her come. The synchronous rhythmic tightening of her pussy and ass around his fingers and tongue forced his dick to weep, trapped between his abs and the bed as he lay on his belly between her legs.

Limp and sated she just lay there while he crawled back up to flop down on his back next to her with a grunt, swiping his hand down over her juices that coated his chin and lips. She opened one eye, looking down his body, spying the erection he sported unashamedly.

"I'm telling you; that's _not_ going to fit." she said wearily, rolling to her side to cuddle against him.

Daryl chuckled as he put his arm around her.

"Seriously." Carol asked, curious now, "How does that work?"

"It stretches." Daryl said reassuringly. "We'd need actual lube if we decide to try it...if you want to; it's your call..."

"Does it feel good?" Carol asked, sounding dubious.

"Hell yeah—being in some place so tight and hot is –"

"No—I meant to have it _in_ there." Carol clarified.

Daryl paused.

"I _wouldn't_ know." he said slowly.

Carol looked up at him.

"So you were the top?"

"How do you even _know_ that term?" Daryl asked, snorting at her.

"I _read_." Carol retorted.

"It wasn't really like that...he knew I wasn't into it...that's why he brought the girl in." Daryl told her, "With him...it only happened once."

"But you liked it." Carol asked.

"I hated it. I hated him and I hated myself after. It was wrong, not the act itself, but the _reason_. I knew he loved me and I felt sorry for him, grateful he was my friend. I wanted to give him something back. He wanted it because he wanted to be... I don't know, _possessed_ by me or something, as if that would bind us."

"He wanted to show you he could give you something you thought you could only get from me." Carol speculated, sitting up and looking down at him.

"Maybe." Daryl said, not having thought about it that way before.

"When Rick gets here...you two need to talk." Carol said, brushing his sweaty bangs back off his forehead lovingly. He captured her hand in his and pressed a kiss to her palm.

"I'll be civil—I can be a grown-up—I won't pretend he isn't here. I won't get into a fight with him or anything." Daryl promised her.

"No, I mean _talk_ ; about what happened between you." Carol said, "Make it right."

"I don't know if we can." Daryl said.

Carol frowned.

"Don't feel sorry for him." Daryl told her, squeezing her hand, "He did everything he could to keep us apart."

"Because he was in love with you." Carol said sadly.

"Carol, he's a manipulative bastard." Daryl said flatly. "He used every trick in the book to shut you out of my life and keep me for himself."

"But in the end he _didn't_ win." Carol reminded him. "He's been just as lonely the last ten years as we have."

"Yeah, but he's the only one who _deserved_ to be." Daryl growled.

"Maybe we needed this time apart." Carol said optimistically, "To grow and change and become who we are now."

Daryl ran his hand down her abdomen, finding the myriad of small circular scars left by the burning ends of her husband's cigarettes, his torture carefully placed where they'd be hidden by her clothes.

"You didn't need _these._ " Daryl said, his eyes narrow and stormy with suppressed rage. When he'd first seen them he'd cried, blaming himself again for not going to her before her marriage. She'd soothed him, telling him it just meant they were the same now, _survivors._

Carol's lower lip quivered and then she leaned over and kissed him.

Daryl pulled her close until she rested her head on his chest.

"You know on second thought," Daryl said, sounding sure of himself, "The first thing I'm gonna do when I see Rick Grimes again is punch him in the mouth."

* * *

 _Okay, so their sexy times kind of got away from me and I had to postpone Rick et al's arrivals. This story has taken over my brain... At least one more chapter to come._

 _Thanks for reading-I love hearing what you think!_


	4. Chapter 4

We begin with probably the most M rated scene I've ever written and go from there as Daryl and Carol enjoy the last of their alone time together before welcoming the first of the rest of the reunion arrivals, including a surprise guest.

* * *

4.

 _Being inside her was a dream. Sitting up over her while she lay flat on the bed, her knees up over his forearms, Daryl rolled his hips slowly and she met him slide for slide, rocking her pelvis against him, her clit rubbing against his cock with each thrust. She moaned his name but was silenced by Rick's lips moving over hers._

 _Rick continued to kiss down her throat and collarbone, settling in to suckle noisily at her pebbled pink nipples, making her buck up against Daryl, grabbing fistfuls of the sheet underneath her to anchor herself._

 _Daryl put his hands under her ass, tilting it up to change his angle and she groaned in approval. He felt Rick's tap on his hand twice, their signal to switch places, and made a noise of protest, but complied, retreating out of her heated depths._

 _Rick pulled her on top of him and fitted his thick erection to her opening, sliding home and then pulling her tight against his chest. He slid his legs apart, dragging against hers, pulling them wider, her ass high and open._

" _Take her." Rick ordered, tossing him the bottle of lube, "You know she wants it. Fuck her ass now, while I'm in her pussy. Nothing else feels like it..." and then he started kissing her, calming and relaxing her when she whimpered with anticipation._

 _Daryl ran his hands over the rosy flesh of her soft ass, working up to it. Then he squirted a big dollop of the rosewater lube over his cock and stroked it with one hand while he applied another to the cleft between her cheeks. Using his index finger he eased foreword, finding the puckered opening and sliding the cool gel inside._

 _Pumping gently, he continued to push deeper with his finger and then added a second. She moaned and pushed back against the penetration, opening to him more readily and he added a third finger, listening to the squish squelch of both his hand on his dick and his fingers working in her ass._

 _He was so hard he couldn't stand it anymore, even through the condom he felt super-sensitized and ready to burst. Removing his fingers he moved into position kneeling behind her and in between their legs, guiding the tip of his cock to the rosebud target._

 _Rick was right; nothing else had ever felt like this. When the head of his dick popped through the anal ring it grabbed and held the diameter of his shaft just underneath the head tightly, locking him inside the tight passage._

" _Shiiiit..._ _" Daryl groaned, pressing deeper, trying to go slow, conscious of the reality that his cock was inside her at the same time another was already filling her to capacity just across that thin membrane of tissue. And then he felt Rick shift, his shaft rubbing against her walls as well, making her cry out, begging them to move, to just_ _take her_ _._

 _They worked out a rhythm, one thrusting in while the other drew out, back and forth, moving her between them, listening to her panting cries and screams urging them on, to_ _fuck her harder_ _, the sweat pouring off all three of them, glistening bodies sliding against one another._

 _Daryl put his hands around her slender waist and she twisted around so she could see him, her face in beautiful agony; her big blue eyes went wide and she said his name as she convulsed in a shattering orgasm, her auburn curls shaking with the force of it, and then collapsed back down against Rick's chest._

" _Feels so fuckin'_ _good,_ _doesn't it brother?" Rick said, running his fingers gently through Carol's hair, "Both of us inside your woman." he smirked. "Next time_ _you_ _can fuck_ _my_ _ass while I'm inside_ _hers_ _—how about it? Her ass or mine, Daryl? Can't have both."_

" _Fuck!"_ Daryl awoke drenched in sweat, slamming bolt upright in bed. He looked around wildly and saw Carol, who had been sleeping peacefully beside him, blinking up at him in confusion.

"What's wrong?" she asked, putting her hand on his chest, feeling how rapidly his heart was beating, how his chest hair was damp against her fingers.

"Dream." he said, laying back down and pulling her to him for a kiss, trying to banish the incubus that wore Rick's face. Like Beetlejuice, just saying his name too many times today had summoned him into Daryl's unconscious mind, reliving some of what had happened with Jessie, but mixed all up with what he and Carol had talked about earlier and _way_ too damn vivid for his liking as well.

"Bad one?" Carol asked with a sympathetic pout, popping a series of little kisses against his lips to make him feel better.

"I've had worse." Daryl told her; touching her sweet face, assuring himself _she_ was real and not some cruel trick of his regretful imagination.

Carol pulled his palm to her lips and then leaned up and brushed his hair back so she could kiss his forehead just as she did for Sophia when she woke with a nightmare.

"All better." she said softly.

"You still like pancakes?" Daryl asked, changing the subject, closing one eye and looking up and to the side as if he was dredging his memory for information. "Blueberries inside'em, not just on top?"

To his surprise, that made Carol's eyes fill with tears.

" _What did I do?"_ he asked, feeling horrible that he'd hurt her somehow.

"I can't believe you remembered that." Carol said, sniffing at him. "I still make them for Sophia every Sunday."

"You miss her." Daryl reached up and tenderly wiped at her tears with his thumb.

"She's my baby." Carol said, laughing at her own silliness. "And she inherited my love of blueberry pancakes."

"Remember those god awful ones Lori made?" Daryl said, chuckling. "She was Rick's girlfriend at the time so I had to eat them. Had a bellyache for two days after—they just lay in there, like lead weights."

"You were a good friend." Carol said softly.

"What's she like? Your girl?" Daryl asked and Carol gracefully let him return the discussion to Sophia.

"Better now—for a long time she was so quiet, shy, like I was. She was a child with a warzone for a home. Now she's... _sassy._ " Carol smiled, happy with that as a word to describe her daughter.

"Like her _mama_." Daryl smirked, giving her butt a playful little smack and then rubbing over it soothingly.

Carol stretched up against him, enjoying the touch, her breasts pushing against his chest, nipples peaking. She draped her thigh over his, rubbing it against his morning wood and he groaned.

"Sweetheart, I love you, but this is _not_ a good idea—y'all should probably go soak in a hot tub if we're being realistic here—we seriously over used _all_ your tender bits last night." Daryl's Georgia accent was heavier and his voice softer than usual as he gently admonished her about the wisdom of starting something.

Carol pouted and he had to grab her hand to stop its sneaky trajectory of moving slowly towards his cock.

"And in full disclosure, the way _my_ tender bits are aching, I might even have to forgo the _bike_ for today." he told her in a stern tone so she'd know he was serious.

As near as Daryl could tell, they'd had full on sex at least five times, not counting the extended fore and after play...it all kind of blended together into one long wonderfully debauched night of love making, but something neither of them was used to.

"The others won't get here until around lunchtime, right?" Carol asked, running an index finger down the curve of his bicep. Abe, Shane and Lori were all coming in today on the same flight and Michonne would pick up the new arrivals up at the airport, just as she'd done yesterday.

" _Carol_..." Daryl was leery of the look in her eye.

"We can use the hot tub...you know, soak our bits?" she suggested leadingly.

"Mine might do better with an ice pack on them." Daryl muttered, adding, "I think you sprained'em." as he adjusted himself and winced. Then he sat up and rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"Daryl?" Carol said his name softly and he looked back down at her, her crazy curl halo of hair spread out on the pillow behind her head, her crystal blue eyes shining, a little sunburn on her turned up nose from their day out yesterday, the freckles on her chest lessening at the curve of her creamy breasts, blush pink aureoles with high tipped centers...

Daryl tilted his head at her and smiled warmly.

"I love you too." Carol said, looking into his eyes, her lips twisting into a small smile full of suppressed emotion.

* * *

They were on the sundeck outside the living room, in the Jacuzzi, a bit distracted with each other when the others arrived.

"Don't look now, but I think someone's out on your deck fucking in the hot tub," a decidedly snide but girlish female voice announced.

They were in fact only kissing, but Carol was straddling Daryl's lap with her back to the house, wearing her modest one piece halter style swimming suit, which since Daryl's arms were draped around her neck, his hands tangled in the hair at her nape, could give the impression from the back that she was nude.

Carol turned her head and saw a young big eyed blonde staring at her and then Shane, Lori, Abe and Michonne appeared behind the girl.

"Is that Carol Mason? _Holy shit!"_ Abraham exclaimed happily.

"Well, that sure ain't Ed." Shane snorted.

"It's Daryl!" Lori said in surprise, looking over at Michonne, "How on earth did you find Daryl Dixon?"

" _Dixon?_ Mother dick!" Abraham chortled, "Don't that beat all! Carol Mason fuckin' Daryl Dixon in the hot tub. Gonna be a _hell_ of a reunion!" and then he slapped Shane on the back.

"We're not..." Carol started to protest, trying to slide off Daryl's lap, but he held her in place.

"So which one a' you assholes is gonna bring us a beer when we're done?" Daryl shot back, "Beer okay sweetheart?" he asked Carol solicitously.

Wide eyed, Carol nodded back at him.

Abe and Shane laughed outright, while Michonne and Lori just smiled and shook their heads.

"Just make sure you _drain it_ when they're done." the blonde said with a moue of disgust, shaking her head. "Which one is our room, baby?" she asked, looking at Shane and lifting her carry-on in distress as if it weighed a ton.

Carol and Daryl both looked at Shane with interest at this new information. Shane had brought a _share a room_ type guest.

"Any one that doesn't already have stuff in it," Michonne said, looking speculatively at Carol and Daryl, "Though _another_ one might be opening up soon..."

The blonde frowned at her, blinking in confusion.

"Just go pick one out and put our shit in there, Beth." Shane said impatiently, making the girl pout. Seeing that, Shane sighed and went to her, giving her a quick kiss of apology, "You go on now, I'll be in there in a little bit, ahright?"

Mollified, Beth nodded and headed out to find which of the remaining rooms in the house was the biggest and had the best ocean view.

When she was out of ear shot Abe, who had returned from the refrigerator with a handful of beers held by their long necks, turned to Shane and shook his head at him.

"You swear on th' Bible that girl is twenty-one?" Abe asked, "I mean you saw her birth certificate and everything?"

"Shut the fuck up." Shane growled.

Abe went out onto the deck and handed beers to Carol and Daryl, who had emerged from the hot tub, wrapping beach towels around their wet bathing suits to stop them from dripping and followed him inside.

"She was Judith's _babysitter_ for Christ's sake, Shane," Lori said tersely.

Their daughter was the same age as Sophia. Beth had been her sitter for the last five years, starting at age sixteen. She hadn't been involved in their divorce three years ago in any way, and Shane hadn't started dating her until this year, but it still pissed Lori off.

"And now she's my girlfriend." Shane said, accepting a beer and the opener from Abe.

"Well, at least she's drinking age now." Abe said dryly, and the two men toasted while Lori rolled her eyes at them.

Lori went over to Carol, holding out her arms for a hug.

"I'll get you all wet." Carol cautioned but Lori just flapped her arms at her, motioning her forward and they embraced warmly. Carol hadn't stayed as close with Lori as she had with Andrea and Michonne, but there was still a strong foundation of friendship between them, built all those years ago at college.

Shane and Abe shook hands with Daryl, greeting him just as warmly. The men complimented Daryl on his tattoos, pulling up their shirts and shirt sleeves to show off and compare their own, but said nothing about his scars. Daryl started to relax, feeling accepted by this group of people even more than he had been back in school.

Before anyone got started with the usual questions about family and jobs, Michonne said they should let the hot tubbers go get cleaned up and changed and then they could all catch up over lunch.

Carol and Daryl headed back to their rooms, but when they got there he paused, stopping her from going into her room.

"What Michonne said? Do you want to?" he asked and nodded towards his room door.

"Share a room?" Carol asked, frowning, pretending to have trouble deciding, "Mine has an ocean view, balcony, private bathroom..."

"Same as mine," Daryl agreed, "Except mine is where the _condoms_ live."

"I'll get my things."

"I'll help."

* * *

Back in the kitchen, Lori was helping Michonne prepare lunch while Abe set the table and Shane went to check on Beth.

"So how long has _that_ been going on? The Carol and Daryl." Lori asked Michonne, chopping up celery for the chicken salad with a large knife.

Michonne looked down at her watch.

"About twenty-four hours, give or take..." Michonne said with a one shoulder shrug, cutting grapes in half and tossing them in the bowl with the cubed chicken.

"You little matchmaker you!" Lori laughed. "You had them come a day early and left them alone here overnight!"

"Who _me_?" Michonne pretended to buff her fingernails on the lapel of her blouse.

"She moped around for months after he dropped out. I always thought that's why when Rick introduced her to Ed she agreed to go out with him—just to get her mind off Daryl." Lori mused.

Though none of them had known the true ugliness in Ed's make-up, some little things in his behavior had set off warning bells in Carol's closest friends. Despite their advice, she continued to see him and they got engaged on Valentine's Day senior year.

"I forgot it was Rick who introduced them. For Christ's sake don't tell Daryl that!" Michonne cautioned and Lori nodded in agreement. As protective as Daryl was of Carol, that tidbit of information would only cause conflict between the two men.

"How did you even _find_ Mr. Dixon?" Lori asked, "The alumni office doesn't really keep very good track of people who didn't graduate." They had both tried finding Daryl before this with no success.

"Rick." Michonne told her, "He had Daryl's e-mail."

" _Really."_ Lori said with a little huff of disbelief, dumping the chopped celery into the bowl.

"Yes, but Daryl said they haven't been in touch for awhile and Rick never volunteered the information before now. They were so close, especially that last year at school, it seemed _off_ to me." Michonne said.

"Rick wears people out." Lori sighed. "All that intense focus on you...it gets to be too much."

"Is that what really happened?" Michonne asked. "With the two of you?"

"Did I start sleeping with Shane because it was all too much with Rick? Maybe." Lori said pensively, "He had our whole lives planned out, our future together. We were only nineteen years old and he already knew what house we were going to buy in his home town after we got married, what our kids' names were going to be...he even wanted Daryl to move there too, so he could have his best friend and his best girl in the same place."

"So it wasn't because...you never told him? About...the other thing?" Michonne asked softly.

"No one knows but you and Andrea." Lori whispered back, looking wistful, "It would've been twelve now." She hadn't known she was pregnant, the miscarriage had happened when she, Andrea, and Michonne were home visiting Andrea's mom for the fall break four day long weekend. Lori's parents would have disowned her if they'd found out she'd been pregnant, so Andrea's mom took her to her own OBGYN for care. It had been very early and there were no complications. Armed with a prescription for the Pill she returned to school feeling sad but fortunate.

"Rick wouldn't have handled it well." Michonne said.

"Rick would've lost his shit." Lori snorted. "We'd have gotten married and had a child way too young and Lord knows what a disaster that would've been."

They both imagined that for a minute and then slowly nodded in agreement.

"So you and Shane are really okay?" Michonne asked, spooning the creamy white Hellman's into the bowl and stirring all of the ingredients together.

"Despite the fact he's dating the slutty Disney princess?" Lori snarked, "Actually yes. He and Abe get along really well and they're both wonderful with Judy. The co-parenting thing is working out better than I expected."

"And hey, now you have a built in babysitter!" Michonne grinned cheekily.

"Bitch." Lori dead panned.

"So who is Judy staying with this week?" Michonne asked with a chuckle.

"First weekend at Shane's parents, during the week while she has school my folks will have her at our house, the second weekend she'll go to Abe's moms'. She loves having three sets of grandparents to spoil her." Lori said. "I'm glad they all live fairly close to Alexandria; it makes it easier for us to all see each other often."

"What can I do to help?" Carol asked with a happy smile, joining them in the kitchen, having changed into knee length shorts and a peasant blouse. Behind her Daryl, in board shorts and a t-shirt advertising his motorcycle shop wandered over to see what Abe was doing out on the deck, but they were interrupted by the arrival of Shane and his girlfriend.

" _Oh my_." Michonne said, and both of Lori's eyebrows shot up, making Carol turn around to see what the fuss was.

Shane was dressed similarly to Daryl, but wearing a short sleeved button down Hawaiian shirt with green orchids on it open over his t-shirt. Beth, on the other hand, looked ready for the beach in Rio or the nearest stripper pole... Her green bathing suit, what there was of it, was a thong, the kind that would require not just a Brazilian, but the _Full Monty_ of waxes. It made Carol's crotch wince just to think about it. One small triangle of cloth barely covered her pubic area, and the distance between it and her pierced belly button seemed to stretch for miles...

The top covered her perky nipples with two additional small triangular pieces of cloth attached to what seemed to be fishing line. The suit fabric looked like it was magically attached to her tits, most of which were on view, not more than a B cup, but firm and high. Her over-sized sunglasses covered more of her skin than her entire bathing suit.

"She'd have more on if she was naked." Lori said, which made no sense, but seemed somehow perfectly true. The bathing suit drew your attention to her sex as _display._ It was a _fuck you_ to convention and to her boyfriend's ex-wife and their friends. It was _I'm younger than you, and I always will be._ It was the act of a child.

"What?" Michonne asked Carol, drawing her head around, after noticing she and Daryl were smirking at one another.

Beth, deciding she was ready to be served her lunch, had headed for the table, gesturing for Shane to pull out a chair for her.

"The chairs on the deck get really hot in the sun unless you have the umbrella shading them. I almost burned my butt when I sat on one in my swim suit earlier." Carol said, turning back to watch the little group on the deck.

"We really should warn her." Lori said in a monotone, taking a long pull on her beer, making no move to do so.

"It would be the right thing to do." Michonne agreed, adding some curry powder to the chicken salad and stirring it in.

An ear piercing shriek split the air as bare ass hit hot chair seat.

"I'll get her some ice." Carol said, sounding a bit repentant, grabbing a dish towel, heading for the fridge door and filling the ice bucket so she could run it out to the deck.

"And now I _get_ that expression!" Michonne said, nodding.

"What expression?" Lori asked.

"Doesn't that just _burn_ your ass?"

* * *

AN: Incubus: _An imaginary demon or evil spirit supposed to descend upon sleeping persons, especially one fabled to have sexual intercourse with people during their sleep._

 _Kind of fits what Rick did to Daryl, doesn't it?_

 _(And yes, I'm still blushing from the Carickyl dream sequence...)_

 _The baby Lori lost would have been Carl. Lori has a line to one of her friends in a the flashback sequence on the show (ep. when she has to tell Carl that Rick has been shot): "We just got married so young..." which always made me think they had to get married because she was pregnant._

 _I deliberately aged up this version of B-th to remove one part of the usual issues around her in a relationship. At 21 she is 9 years younger than this Shane; the fact that she was his daughter's babysitter and he's known her since she was 16 is the more problematic part here. Oh and also that she's not a very nice person. I kind of really love semi-evil B-th..._

 _Next: Rick's arrival._


	5. Chapter 5

_The first arrivals enjoy their day on the island of Lanai with some sight-seeing; Caryl has a couple of emotional moments and the next day Rick has a confrontation at the airport._

* * *

5.

"So what's on the docket for the rest of the day, 'chonne?" Abe asked, leaning back in his chair, enjoying the late afternoon breeze that swept in from the beach.

"Whatever everyone is up for." Michonne responded, looking across the table at Daryl and Carol, "These two rented a motorcycle to see some sights yesterday..."

"Went east—up by the old volcano—Lane-ai-ha-lee?" Daryl said, unsure if he was pronouncing it correctly.

"Mount Lanaihale," Michonne nodded, "Good view of the rest of the island from up there."

"We thought we might go to the Garden of the Gods later tonight, after dark, but whatever anyone else is interested in would be fine." Carol said.

"Keahiakawelo—it's spectacular with a full moon—you feel like you're on Mars." Michonne nodded readily. "It's out at the end of Polihua Road."

"It's amazing how that gibberish just trips off your tongue," Shane said disparagingly. Cultural sensitivity had never been one of his strong suits.

"I thought the Lanai _Culture & Heritage Center_ sounded interesting." Lori said with a scathing look at Shane, "And there's an Orchid House down at one of the big resorts that sounds amazing!"

"She spent the flight over here with her head buried in her _Eyewitness Travel Guide to the Hawaiian Islands_." Abe said with a smile, looking at his wife indulgently. The big rough man had always had a soft spot for Lori, but didn't want to get in the middle of her things with Rick and then Shane. It wasn't until after her divorce from Shane, seeing each other again at one of these reunions that they had finally gotten together.

"We're in Hawaii; we're supposed to go to the _beach_." Beth said, looking around the table with a sour expression. She was already in a bad mood from having to sit on an ice pack for the minor burn, no worse than a sunburn, that she'd sustained on the hot seat earlier. Carol had helped her, for which she'd been grudgingly grateful, but they all knew sooner or later the blonde would make them all pay.

The rest of the group looked at Shane for confirmation of that sentiment.

"On a fuckin' island—whole place is a beach—knock yerself out, darlin'." Shane said lazily.

"If you two want to just stay here, it's a private beach access." Michonne told Shane. "We'll come back for dinner and you can think about if you want to come to the Garden of the Gods later tonight with us. How's that sound?"

"Peachy." Shane said, crossing his arms behind his head. "Take me a nap on that there beach."

"Be better to stay up until at least ten tonight—reset your body clock—helps with the jet lag." Carol advised.

"Sweetheart, I'll definitely be _up_ tonight." He waggled his eyebrows and put his arm around Beth's shoulders, " _That's_ what I gotta rest up for." Beth gave him a sloe-eyed smile and leaned back into his embrace.

Carol blushed.

" _Asshole."_ Daryl grumbled at Shane, putting his hand over Carol's.

" _So_ glad I packed my noise cancelling headphones..." Lori muttered, shaking her head, pushing away from the table and standing to start clearing it.

"Don't worry—I picked us a room on the opposite side of the house." Abe assured her.

"My hero." Lori said, and as she leaned down to pick up his dishes, pressed a quick kiss to her husband's cheek.

A flicker of something went across Shane's face at the casual intimacy of the gesture, perhaps regret?

"We can squeeze five in my Jeep...or are you two taking the bike again?" Michonne asked Daryl.

He and Carol exchanged a glance; she suppressed a smile in light of his earlier comments about the state of his "bits".

"Jeep sounds fine," Daryl said. "Squeeze you skinny-assed women in the back."

"You think you're driving _my_ Cherokee Rose?" Michonne tsked at him.

"You named your _car_?" Shane snorted.

"It's a white Jeep Cherokee." Michonne said drolly, "I'm from Georgia."

"State flower." Daryl nodded, smiling.

Carol looked at him, surprised.

"Always liked the story..." Daryl smiled over at her, a bit shyly.

"What story?" Beth asked, annoyed at being left out of the conversation. The only one of them there not schooled in Georgia, she had never learned the legend.

As Daryl explained how the white flower with the tear shaped petals was the answer to the prayers of the Cherokee leaders to comfort the mothers who lost their little ones on the Trail of Tears, Carol watched him in awe. He spoke eloquently, gently and with great feeling. She thought of him, losing his own mother at such a young age, then hurt so badly by his father. It had created a deep sense of empathy within him.

"That so sad...and beautiful..." Beth said quietly, staring at Daryl like he was the most enchanting thing she'd ever seen, which did not go unnoticed. For his part, Daryl had eyes only for Carol, and didn't see the girl's fixation.

"Could you please help me with these dishes, Beth?" Lori asked, breaking the spell.

"Me?" Beth blinked up at her.

"That's part of how this get-together works, dear, we all pitch in and do our share." Lori told her in a no nonsense tone.

Everyone else held their breath, waiting to see how that idea went over.

Beth curled her lip and looked at Shane, but he nodded at her in agreement with Lori.

"I'll help too. Here, put this on over your pretty suit so's you don't get anything on it." Shane said, standing and pulling off his Hawaiian shirt and holding it out to her. She did, and with less fuss than they'd all expected.

When she, Lori and Shane were back in the kitchen Abe gave a big sigh.

"Little miss likes having a rich older boyfriend a little _too_ much." Michonne said cynically.

"As much as Shane likes having a hot young thing on his arm n' in his bed." Daryl said, thrusting out his chin.

"She's actually a nice kid. Always takes real good care of Judith." Abe said, quietly, "Grew up on a farm outside the city, her dad's a Vet. Got a little full of herself when she went to college in Georgetown, hanging out with those rich girls." and then his voice dropped even lower, "I think she really cares about Shane though."

"I hope so." Carol said, with such an odd note to her voice that Daryl looked at her questioningly. She avoided his gaze and stood, saying she needed to go put on her good walking shoes.

After a beat Daryl followed. He found her, sitting on the bed in their room, staring at her sandals and her sneakers, seemingly unable to decide between the two.

"Hey, what's goin' on?" Daryl asked.

"What are we thinking? I'm an over thirty divorcee with freckles, frizzy carrot hair and an eight year old daughter. You're as hot as one of those guys on _Zombie Killers of the Apocalypse_ —don't you dare tell Michonne I watch it—with your motorcycles and your tattoos and your muscles. You live in California, my job's in Atlanta..."

"What brought this on?" Daryl wondered, sitting down beside her.

"I saw the way she was looking at you." Carol said, sounding distant."That girl. That super hot _young_ thing that looked like she wanted to eat you up with a spoon."

"Girls like that? A dime a dozen in L.A." Daryl said, leaning back, reclining on the bed. "You never asked...if I had somebody back there."

Carol felt dizzy with fear; she turned her head slowly to look at him.

"If I wanted a girl like that, I could've had one. Did I date? Sure, but I've never been married, never even lived with a woman." Daryl said, putting his hand on the small of her back, tugging on her blouse until she lay back beside him, facing each other on their sides.

"Only woman I ever really loved was married to someone else." he told her, "Now that problem is solved, anything else is small potatoes."

"Really?" Carol asked, her bruised heart wary.

"Mmm hmm." Daryl murmured, and then raised an eyebrow at her, "Over thirty?"

"I'll be thirty-one in May." Carol told him.

"It's November." Daryl said dryly, rolling over so she was pinned underneath him "And if you change one hair on your head or one freckle and don't think I can't wait to meet Sophia you're just plain crazy, woman."

"Not one freckle?" Carol laughed.

"Not a one." Daryl said, and kissed as many as he could reach until they heard Abe bellow that it was time to leave.

* * *

"It's kinda spooky here." Beth said, taking a drink from the bottle of wine Lori had brought along and cuddling closer to Shane.

The bottle had already been around the circle a few times. The two drivers, Daryl and Michonne abstained. They had ended up renting another Jeep, this one an older Jimmy style that was good on the sometimes muddy dirt back roads where the tourist sites were found.

They were all sitting around a fire ring in the picnic area at the edge of the Garden of the Gods at around midnight. Under the almost full moon it did feel a bit like they were on another planet. Red rock boulders and rock towers were scattered across the barren landscape like in the photographs that had come back from the Mars Rover.

"Just the right place for _ghost_ stories." Shane teased, making eerie undulating noises while Beth squealed at him to stop.

"Well, Lanai does have its share of scary legends." Michonne told them, "Supposedly back in ancient times, man-eating spirits occupied the island. For generations, the Maui chiefs believed these zombie spirits would come to the sacred places like this one and demand offerings."

" _Zombie_ spirits? Why not call 'em _cannibal_ spirits?" Daryl asked doubtfully.

"Spirits means they're dead. Zombies are the walking dead who eat man flesh."Abe said, "Don't you watch that show?"

"What _kind_ of offerings?" Carol asked, trying to steer them back to Michonne's story.

"Sacrifices... _human_ sacrifices..." Michonne intoned ominously, "Especially of a _certain_ _type._ "

"Oh, not babies! Please don't say babies!" Beth begged, getting a bit emotional.

"It ain't babies, honey." Shane said soothingly, " _Right_ , 'chonne?"

"No, they required _another_ kind of innocence." Michonne told them, looking around the circle meaningfully.

"Then I think all of us here are safe." Lori snarked. "And have been for _quite_ a long time..."

"How old were you?" Beth asked, curious and feeling a little buzzed and a little bold to be talking about such things with people just that much older than her. She passed the wine to Lori, who took it with a grunt.

"When I lost my virginity?" Lori took a big slug from the wine bottle. "Eighteen. Freshman year of college."

"Rick?" Shane asked.

Lori nodded and took another swig before passing the bottle to Abe.

"Your turn." Lori said.

"This what we're doin' now?" Abe made a face, but Lori tilted her head it him in warning. Abe sighed and took a drink.

"Seventeen, Prom night, High School, and her name was _Rosita._ " he said with a sigh of nostalgic relish.

"Did you already know that?" Shane asked Lori.

"I already knew that." Lori assured everyone.

Abe passed the bottle next to Carol, whose eyes went wide as everyone focused on her.

"You don't have to. You don't." Daryl said, reaching to take the bottle from her, but Carol raised it her lips and took a swallow.

"Twenty-one. My wedding night. Ed." Carol said with tears in her eyes, and then chugged what was left in the bottle, about a quarter of it, before passing it to Daryl, who looked like he couldn't decide to rage or cry, practically throwing the bottle away from him.

Carol reached over and pulled Daryl in for a kiss, resting her forehead on his.

" _Wait._ I take that back, that was wrong." Carol said, and then, in a low strong voice said, " _Thirty, last night, with Daryl."_

Daryl hugged her close, Lori could be heard to be sniffling, Michonne was smiling in benign pride, Beth was staring, and even Shane and Abraham seemed to be having trouble with dust in their eyes, rubbing at them.

"How the hell am I supposed to follow _that_?" Shane groused, finding the bottle near his feet and finishing off the swallow of wine Carol had left in the bottom.

* * *

The next morning Abe and Shane took Daryl with them to play a round of golf despite his protests that he was terrible at it, while Lori, Beth and Carol told them they were off to check out the shopping in town. Michonne was headed to the ferry and then the airport to pick up the rest of the reunion group so she dropped off Lori and Beth in Lanai City, but Carol said she thought it would be better if she went to the airport too, just in case there were any problems with the flights and Michonne had to be in two places at the same time.

On the ferry she explained to Michonne that she really needed to talk to Rick, alone, and didn't want Daryl to know about it, and she couldn't go into much more detail than that. Thinking it must have something to do with what Lori had reminded her about Rick and Ed, Michonne agreed.

When they got to the airport they split up, using a cover story about flight delays that would give Carol time alone with Rick. She waited nervously for his arrival; going over everything she had learned about what he had done to Daryl in her head to steel her resolve.

When she spotted him she had to admit he was every bit as handsome and charismatic as she remembered. His wavy dark hair was neatly trimmed, and he had that day's growth of stubble that made him look rugged and sexy. His tailored navy linen pants hugged his long lean legs above cowboy boots and his chambray blue shirt, worn untucked, matched the sky blue of his eyes.

"Hello Rick." Carol said, smoothing down the skirt of her orange dress and then nervously plucking at the lei she wore, bought when Michonne had gotten them for Andrea and T.

"Carol?" Rick said, looking around and behind her. She seemed to be alone which puzzled him. He thought she'd be with Michonne or even Daryl... he'd _hoped_ for Daryl.

"T-Dog and Andrea's flight was delayed and came in almost the same time as yours, so Michonne went to meet them at another carousel." Carol told him.

"Guess we should head over—"

"They'll wait there until we get there; Michonne promised." Carol said, "I wanted a few minutes to talk to you first, alone." She motioned a side corridor that led the restrooms in the waiting area outside the carousel.

Frowning, Rick picked up his bags and followed her into the relative privacy of the hallway.

"I know what you did, Rick." Carol said, diving right in, conscious of her limited time, "To Daryl. He told me everything. You knew his past, you knew his vulnerabilities and you used them to get what you wanted from him."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Rick sputtered. _Where was this coming from? Since when did Daryl want Carol to know anything about his debaucheries?_

"You took advantage of him and you did everything you could to keep us apart." Carol said, raising her chin. "Including fixing me up with Ed."

"I was trying to protect you, Carol!" Rick blustered, brazening it out. "Look, I don't know what story he told you, but _he's_ the one who took advantage of _me_." Rick said plaintively, "That shy boy stuff was all an act. He was a player, Care, even back then—he...he brought this girl to our room, got me high, talked me into having sex with her in front of him...then he ...he..." Rick looked away, seemingly unable to speak.

"I don't believe you." Carol said coldly.

"You saw how he was—groping you in the kitchen that night, he told me he wanted us to seduce you, that we could _share_ you, one last party before he left." Rick said self-righteously.

"You're pathological." Carol said, marveling at his ability to spin the truth.

"Daryl was obsessed with you!" Rick said indignantly. "Couldn't stop talking about all the things he wanted to do to you. I was afraid for you—that's why I introduced you to Ed—I thought if you were with someone else he'd back off, and he _did_."

"Daryl is a good man." Carol said firmly. "All he's ever wanted was what's best for me. He loves me."

"Then why did he fuck _me_?" Rick said his eyes glittering and hard, triumphantly throwing out a truth he thought would destroy her.

"Because you're a manipulative bastard." Carol said calmly, repeating what Daryl had told her earlier. "That was the only way you got him into your bed in the first place." she shook her head at him, "I felt sorry for you because you loved him...I wanted to give you a chance to say _you_ were sorry for everything you did...but you're just as twisted as he told me."

"He's just using you, Carol. You're here now so he finally got to fuck you like he always wanted to. He'll get tired of you by the end of the week and throw you away. Just like he did me." Rick told her, desperation apparent in his voice.

"Everyone is expecting to see you for the reunion. You'll come to the beach house tonight, make nice, keep out of Daryl's way. And then you'll get a call tomorrow; some family emergency so you have to go back to the mainland." Carol laid it out unemotionally, what she expected from him.

"You can't tell me what to do." Rick said, icy cold, but his eyes were furtive, trying to think of a way around her.

"What you did to Daryl was immoral, Rick. It was probably illegal. It's called coercive criminal sexual misconduct without consent. Do you want to lose the respect of _more_ of your oldest friends?" Carol asked, "Air that dirty laundry? Open that can of worms in front of all our friends, including Andrea _, the_ _lawyer?_ "

Rick stared at Carol. She wasn't the same innocent girl he'd grown up with. _In a perverse way, introducing her to Ed had helped her_ , he thought. The years of abuse she'd suffered in her marriage had made her as strong as tempered steel. She should thank him.

"If I behave...don't make waves...apologize to Daryl?" Rick bargained. "Can I stay out the week?"

"You think this is a negotiation?" Carol replied coolly. "You really are a piece of work, Grimes."

"I have a non-refundable ticket." Rick protested. "It'll cost a mint to change it."

"I'll find you a room here in Honolulu for the rest of the week, my treat." Carol said, crossing her arms across her abdomen.

Rick stared at her. She was still letting him come to the beach house _tonight_. He would still have a chance to see Daryl...to put his plan in motion...he'd just have less time than he'd originally thought to do it in.

"That's very generous of you, all things considered." Rick finally said, appearing to acquiesce.

"Welcome to paradise." Carol said, with great irony, pulling off the lei she wore and tossing it at him. After he clumsily caught it she picked up his carry on and started walking, forcing him to grab his suit case and follow.

"Oh and don't be surprised if Daryl punches you in the face when he sees you." she called back over her shoulder.

* * *

Reference: McCaffrey, Shannon and Janel Davis. "Secretive Justice: How Georgia Colleges Handle Rape on Campus." _The Atlanta Journal Constitution_.

The Orchid House is on the grounds of Four Seasons Hotel on Lanai.

Keahiakawelo, also known as Garden of the Gods, is an otherworldly rock garden at the end of rocky Polihua Road. This amazing and almost unreal place is about 45 minutes from Lanai City, the only urban center on the island. Its topography is populated with boulders and rock towers. According to Hawaiian folklore, this windswept landscape is the result of a contest between two priests from Lanai. If you really want a thrill, go out there at night during a full moon. _Sources: Wikipedia & Travelocity_.

Thanks for reading-love to hear what you think if you have time -this story won't let go of me...


	6. Chapter 6

_First a short flashback and then Carol and Daryl find out more truths about Rick's manipulations past and present in separate talks with old friends._

* * *

6.

If you didn't know any better, you would think Rick Grimes was the nicest guy in the world.

He greeted T-Dog with a hearty hug and back slaps. For Andrea and Michonne it was a warm tight embrace and quick kiss, exclaiming over how they hadn't changed a bit since he'd seen them last and exclaiming that the lei Carol had gifted him with couldn't compare to their beauty.

And it all sounded sincere, the jests in good fun, the compliments not too over the top to be insincere, the appreciative looks warm not leering. He had the banter and non-verbals down pat. Part of him might have even believed it. He did _like_ these people, they'd been with him through the happiest years of his life, when he'd had Lori, had plans for a future that he knew would've been perfect.

A future that should have also included Daryl.

 **Fall Semester, Freshman Year**

The first time Rick saw him had been at freshman orientation. Daryl had been a last minute admit, something about being runner up for a full ride scholarship and the winner had decided to go to Georgia Tech instead. The dorms were full and he was standing in line for information on off campus housing, a broad shouldered skinny kid in baggy jeans and a plaid shirt with the sleeves ripped off, his long bangs flopping into steel blue eyes that held a look of bewildered anger and fear. He looked like a stray mongrel puppy that expected to be kicked.

Rick had met Andrea and Michonne at the orientation breakfast that morning. They told him they were looking for two last roommates for the big old house they had rented near campus and after he said he wanted to live off campus, they welcomed him and then asked him to put up a notice for them at the housing office when he went to cancel his dorm room contract.

When he passed by Daryl, the kid met his eyes and he felt something pass between them, some understanding that he couldn't explain.

"Hey." Rick said, holding out his hand.

"Do I know you?" Daryl asked warily, cocking his head to the side and looking him up and down, noting the cowboy boots, faded Wranglers and plain white t-shirt that pulled across his chest.

"Rick Grimes." Rick said, still extending his hand.

"So whatta ya want, Rick _Grimes?_ You sellin' somthin? _"_ Daryl gestured to the day glow pink xeroxed sign advertising the room for rent.

Rick extended his other hand so Daryl could see the letter sized sheet of paper.

"It's a big old house, mostly furnished, walking distance, share the rent with a bunch of other people; share a room unless you pay extra for a single." Rick said.

"You live there?" Daryl asked and Rick nodded yes. Daryl looked up and down the line. He stood near the end, worried there wouldn't be much to chose from when he finally made it to the front.

"Why me?" Daryl asked suspiciously.

"You don't look like an asshole." Rick chuckled.

The girl standing in front of Daryl turned around and glared at him.

"Pardon my language." Rick said apologetically, but when she turned back around he smirked at Daryl.

"So why don't I look like an asshole?" Daryl said, making the same girl whip her head back around with an even more fierce glare. "Save it sister." Daryl grunted, making Rick chuckle.

"Your boots. They look like you actually wear them to ride, not just because Doc Martens are trendy; same with your right arm—that's real road rash scabbing on it and the remnants of that black eye have turned a nice shade of purple and yellow. You're standing with all your weight on your left leg, which means your right one still hurts. I'd say oh, about three weeks ago you trashed your bike, but today you limped your way here to start school anyhow."

"Ten points for Mr. Junior Detective." Daryl said, taking the flyer from him and perusing it.

"So what do you say?" Rick asked.

Daryl crumpled the pink paper in his hand and tossed it into a trash can half way across the room.

Rick frowned at him.

"Daryl Dixon." Daryl said, extending his hand.

* * *

 **Present Day**

When they got back to Lanai after picking up the rest of the group at the airport, any confrontation between Rick and Daryl was postponed since the men were still at the golf course. Michonne called Lori, arranging to meet her and Beth at a local restaurant for a late lunch. While Michonne, Lori and Andrea chatted, T-Dog and Carol took a moment to catch up, standing at the bar, both of them watching Rick charm Beth at the other end of the table from the three women.

"He's still got it...Mr. _Smoooth._ " T said, shaking his head and surreptitiously gesturing to Rick.

Carol raised an eyebrow and made a non-committal noise.

"I was glad you never fell for his bullshit." T said, surprising her.

T-Dog and Tyreese had been roommates at the house. Both studious football players, they weren't into the partying lifestyle and so had avoided joining a frat. They had always got along well with everyone in the house, joining in social things when they had time, though their schedules were packed with training, classes, practice and travel for games. Ty had been lucky enough to make it in the NFL draft, and T was now a history teacher and football coach at a high school in the Midwest.

When everything had happened with Rick, Lori and Shane, they had done their best to remain neutral, stepping in only to break up the inevitable fight when Rick went after the man he accused of "ruining his life."

"Do you remember that girl Rick dated after he and Lori broke up?" T asked very softly. "Stacked blonde?"

"Vaguely." Carol said. "What was her name?"

"Jessie. She told us Rick was into some pretty fucked up stuff after Lori dumped him." T-Dog said, looking back over at Rick, who had his hand casually draped over the back of Beth's chair now.

Carol raised an eyebrow.

" _Threesomes."_ T said, side-eyeing Rick. "I think she was trying to see if Ty and me were interested in that kind of action."

Carol's cheeks flamed, but not for the reason T expected.

 _So she was the one_ , Carol thought. _The girl Rick had brought in and that he and Daryl had been with._

"Yeah." T took her blush as her response, and continued, "She said Rick talked about you a lot too. It must've freaked Daryl out. Couple of times we found him sleepin' in front of your bedroom door like he was guarding you or something."

Carol looked at him, baffled. She'd never known that.

"Why are you just telling me this _now_?" Carol asked him.

"Michonne said you and Dixon are together now, that right?" T-Dog asked.

"Yes." Carol said, frowning at him.

"You happy?" he asked.

"Very." Carol smiled and T smiled back, but then his face turned serious again.

"Did you know Rick's the one who gave Michonne Daryl's contact information?" T asked. Michonne had told both he and Andrea that while they'd waited for Rick and Carol at the airport, saying how sweet it was that he had made them finally getting together possible. "That Daryl is here because _Rick_ wanted _both_ of you here?"

Carol hadn't known that either.

"What are you saying, T?"

"Rick has a reason for everything he does, Care." T-Dog said slowly. "If he's still into you, maybe he thinks he can talk his old buddy Daryl into sharing the wealth..."

Carol's head swiveled back to Rick and Beth.

"Daryl would never..." Carol murmured.

"That's what I think too. Daryl was always quiet—you know, shy-like and all. Stuck close to Rick, kind of an opposites balance each other out thing. They were always close, messin' around, play fighting like guys do, punching each other, wrestling, but towards the end there-right before he left? Daryl got even quieter, saw him by himself a lot more, _no Rick_."

Carol knew that was because of what had happened between Daryl and Rick the night he had found out he had to quit school. Daryl had pulled away, told Rick it was over; but she would never betray his confidence by telling T the truth of it.

"So?" Carol asked, wondering what T's interpretation of the same period had been.

"I think maybe Rick was on him about getting it on with you; he knew, hell we _all_ knew you had a crush on Daryl, but Daryl knew he was leaving and didn't want to hurt you by starting something and then just taking off. The guy really cared about you."

 _That's_ what they'd all thought? She had been oblivious, not daring to hope that Daryl would ever return her feelings.

"When Rick fixed you up with Pelletier we were worried that he was trying to pull the same old shit. We had a little talk with Ed about it and he looked like he wanted to vomit at the thought of a threesome—said he'd never share you with _anyone_. We still feel all kinds of shitty about not seeing that as a sign..." T looked remorseful. "We should've just come to you, but you were so innocent back then, we thought we were protecting you..."

"Ed fooled everyone, T." Carol said, letting him off the hook, putting her hand on his burly forearm. _Just like Rick did_... she thought.

"Well, if Rick gives you any hassles, I got your back; so does everybody else." T-Dog told her, covering her hand with his.

"You need a hand carrying those drinks?" Rick called over, looking at Carol and T with keen interest.

"We got it." T-Dog called back, giving Carol's hand a squeeze and then picking up three glasses in each of his big hands, he walked behind her back to the table.

* * *

"So... been awhile since you've seen Rick?" Shane asked Daryl as they watched Abe tee up for the last hole. It had been awhile since Daryl had played, and as he told them, he was still terrible, but no one seemed to care. They enjoyed the day and the chance to catch up, taking a break for lunch between the two rounds they played.

"About eight years." Daryl told him.

"Finally figured out what a true asshole he was?" Shane grinned.

"Something like that." Daryl said evenly, giving nothing away.

"He wasn't good for Lori." Shane said seriously.

Daryl gave a disinterested grunt.

"You never wondered? Why I went poaching in another man's territory?"

"I just thought you were a dick." Daryl said mildly.

"Naw man..." Shane drawled, chuckling, "I admit I do most a' my thinking with the little brain, but I really cared about Lori, she's a special person. She wasn't happy with Rick, didn't know how to break up with him, so I said give him a reason to break up with _her."_

"So it was just a helpful _friendly_ fuck he caught you at." Daryl said in mock understanding tones.

"True enough. I _was_ being a helpful friend. But then that crazy ass mother fucker drama queen comes back in, waving a gun at us—shit! I about wet myself!"

"A gun?" Daryl asked. Rick had still had it later that night when Daryl had found him on the roof...

"Was just a prop gun from the Theatre department—T and Ty got it away from him—but before that he was waving it, talking about how he was gonna fix things so the 'plan' would be back on track."

Daryl had only ever heard Rick's side of the story.

"That was some crazy shit." Shane shook his head. "Lori finally got it through his head that it was over, she was done with him and then he grabbed up the gun and took off. Ty and T hung out in the hall to make sure he didn't come back and I stayed with her; just held her while she cried 'til she fell asleep. Got used to looking after her after that, felt happy when she was around, missed her when she wasn't, got... _comfortable_."

"Fell in love?" Daryl asked, all too familiar with the feelings he was describing.

"Yeah...what's that old song? _Fooled around and fell in love_? Guess that was us...for awhile." Shane said, sounding nostalgic. He looked over at the third man in their party, "Abe's better for her though."

"Why's that?"

"They got way more in common in how they see the world. Like the same stuff, want the same things. Me, I was bored outa my skull goin' to museums and hosting block parties. Abe? He grooves on all that domesticated crapola." Shane took a bottle of chilled water out of his golf bag cooler, opened it and offered it to Daryl, but he declined.

"What about your kid?" Daryl asked, more interested than he let on. The idea that he soon would be dealing with an eight year old in any semblance of a parental mode was making him start to sweat.

"Jude? Hell, best thing I ever did, that kid. Smart as a whip and twice as sassy. Wants a pony—Abe n' me are hoping she'll settle for a real big dog." Shane chuckled.

"You're really okay with this—him raising your girl?"

"We're _all_ raising Judith. Bein' friends with her momma and 'poppa Abe' is easy—we already were. I'd do anything for that child, Daryl. You'll find that out soon enough if you follow through on this thing with Carol."

"Why wouldn't I?" Daryl asked, getting his back up a little at the implication his feelings for Carol might be too shallow to include her daughter's well being.

"Just don't let Rick fuck with your head again." Shane said, lifting the bottle of water to his lips and taking a long swallow.

"Again?"

"Don't take this wrong, but you ever wonder why you never got invited places much back then—to parties and such? Except at the house?" Shane asked.

"No." Daryl shrugged. He'd been a loner, self-conscious and shy. "Just didn't have many friends back then."

"Rick had you convinced he was the only one you could count on. Said he was watching out for you, told everyone you were too shy to ask a girl out, were uncomfortable at big parties. Truth is he kept you isolated, just like he tried to do with Lori. I never saw it 'til years later when Andrea and Lori were talking about Carol's husband doing the same thing to her."

"He wanted me all to himself..." Daryl said.

"Rick wants what Rick wants, everyone else be damned." Shane nodded. "Whether it was a best friend or a girlfriend, nobody fucks with what's his...All that attention and love feels great until you want out, and then he fucks you over."

Daryl nodded, abstractly noticing that Abe had shot and moved on down the course without them.

"After Lori, when he took up with that Jessie I knew she'd keep him busy for awhile—that girl could suck the spots off a leopard." Shane laughed.

"You and Jessie?" That brought Daryl's head around.

"Before things got serious with Lori we took us a couple of tumbles... That girl was a wild thing. Up for anything and I mean _anything_. You musta got locked outa your room a lot when he was with her, right?"

Daryl shrugged.

"Heard you slept in the hall a couple of times...though that might've been for a different...Ty and T thought he was going after Carol next, so we all kept our eye on her. You did too I'm thinkin'."

Daryl nodded. After he'd ended their thing, sometimes he couldn't stand to sleep in the same room as Rick so he took his pillow and got as close to Carol as he dared, the hall outside her door. If the rest of them had seen it as protective, so be it.

"Tell me somthin' man." Shane said. "And I don't mean to come off like an asshole, and you can take a swing at me if you want, but I really want to know. Those scars on your back why you didn't ask Carol out back then?"

Daryl stared at him, his Clint Eastwood squint growing dangerous.

"I mean you obviously both been carrying a torch for that long, all those pent up feelings—all it took was one night together and you're practically married up—don't you feel like shit if that's all that stopped you? That you lost ten _years_ together?"

"We lost ten years together because of _Rick Grimes_." Daryl said in a low grating voice.

"The _fuck_ you say."

"He talked me out of going to see Carol before her wedding." Daryl told him.

"What? Why in the hell would he do that?" Shane asked, clearly confused.

"He said it was because she'd be better off with Ed," Daryl said. "That he just wanted what was best for her."

"And _clearly_ Rick is such an excellent judge of character," Shane said sarcastically, but then he looked perplexed. "I don't get it—he was your best friend, why wouldn't he want a girl he cared about like a sister and his best friend to get together? It wasn't like he wanted _her_ ; she was marrying someone else..."

Daryl stared Shane stonily.

" _Fuck."_ Shane said as the light bulb went off, "He wanted _you_..." He slowly screwed the lid back on the water bottle, shaking his head. "Whoa."

Daryl was surprised at the lightness he felt in his chest to have someone else know his truth.

"Rick swings both ways." Shane said softly to himself and then he raised an eyebrow at Daryl. "But you don't?"

"Nothing wrong with it but no, not by _choice_." Daryl said, not elaborating, but Shane seemed to take his meaning.

"Why didn't you come to one of us?" Shane asked, his expression one of sadness and sympathy. "Ask for help?"

"You saw my back...I grew up learning to keep my mouth shut. I couldn't even admit to myself what was happening. Never told anyone about it until yesterday." Daryl said. He hadn't really understood that he had a choice until it was too late. He also knew that even _today_ the idea that a man could be sexually assaulted wasn't something most people could wrap their minds around. Back then who would've believed him?

"So Carol knows?"

"Everything." Daryl nodded.

"Good man; then there's nothing he can use against you with her." Shane said. "Is he gonna flip out like a little bitch when he finds out you and Carol are together now?"

"Probably." Daryl said.

"Abe was right- _best_ reunion _ever_!" Shane chortled. "I've been waiting for years to see that prick get taken down for his bullshit! I got your back, brother." Shane gave Daryl a hearty back slap to emphasize the point then realized he'd hit Daryl right on his scars. "Shit, sorry!"

"It's all right—they don't hurt anymore." Daryl told him, his face settling into a slow smile.

"You two done flappin' your gums?" Abe called from down the fairway, at the end of his patience, "Are we gonna actually play this last hole so we can go meet up with the rest of them?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Shane said with an expectant malicious grin.

* * *

Even more confirmation that Rick is a real piece of work...

Thanks for reading & for the reviews!


	7. Chapter 7

_Tensions run high with Rick's arrival and one of the group faces danger as he puts his plan into motion._

* * *

7.

"I'm just sayin' they can't _kill_ the zombies; zombies are already dead, right? Dead man walkin'?" Abe asked. "So calling the show Zombie _Killers_ is a misnomer. You can't _kill_ something that's already _dead_."

"Then what would _you_ have called the show?" Daryl said, holding in his smile, trying not to be so amused at the conversation. He couldn't wait to tell Carol about it. He liked how that felt, having someone he wanted to tell stuff to. Then he did smile.

"Zombie _Hunters_ of the Apocalypse. Cause that's what they do: they _hunt_ the zombies." Abe said triumphantly. "You tell them that!"

"You actually know the producers?" Shane asked Daryl skeptically.

"They flew the actor out, I rode with him to make sure he could handle the bike, met a couple of production people, one of them might 'a been a producer." Daryl shrugged. He didn't know shit about what it took to run a TV show. He just knew bikes.

"Cool you met the dude though—he bring his bow and arrows?" Shane said.

"It's a crossbow and bolts, but yeah—we had to make sure the mount for it worked." Daryl said.

"Cool." Shane nodded.

Shane turned the Jeep into the driveway to the beach house and stopped, looking over at Daryl. They all saw that Michonne's Cherokee was already there.

"You ready for this?" Shane asked.

"Are you?" Daryl replied.

"Since we all hate the son of a bitch why is he here?" Abe asked rhetorically.

"It's a reunion." Shane said and they all chuckled darkly.

* * *

"So Lori was your girlfriend first, and then she married Shane and now Abe." Beth said sitting cross-legged on the couch facing Rick. "And Michonne dated T-Dog and then Andrea and now Carol and Daryl are together. That was a busy house!" she leaned forward and swatted her hand on Rick's arm.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it, sweetie." Rick said, winking at her and refilling her wine glass while Beth giggled.

Sitting in a chair across from them Carol crossed and uncrossed her legs, narrowing her eyes at Rick in warning. T-Dog sat in another chair, leaning back in seeming disinterest, but periodically exchanging a loaded look with Carol.

"Who do you think he'll piss off first? Shane or Daryl?" Andrea asked dryly, watching the action from the bar stools in the kitchen area and picking at the hors de oeuvres they were supposed to be preparing and bringing back out to the living room.

"My money's on Shane." Michonne said, "What do you think?" she asked Lori.

"I think we should get back in there before they get here." Lori said, with an eye roll. "Beth's had just enough to drink so she's at the giggly phase."

"Oh _dear_." Andrea said, smirking.

"No, I really should keep an eye on her." Lori said with a long suffering sigh, setting down the knife she'd been using to cut the celery and lifting the tray of vegetables and dips, "She acts like the Queen Bitch of the Universe, but I've known her parents since I moved to Alexandria...and Shane cares about her."

"You are an example to us all..." Andrea said with teasing praise, pointing at first the fruit tray and second the cheese, silently asking Lori which she should carry, "...in how exes should behave."

"Let's hope Shane and Rick both follow your lead." Michonne said, taking the cheese tray and adding crackers to it. "Or this is going to be a tense week."

The three of them carried the snacks to the living room, setting them out on the dining room table along with small plates and napkins. The idea was that everyone would have a late afternoon nibble and then they would head over to the south coast to the Kaunolū Village Site, which Lori had triple starred in her guide book.

Michonne, who had become their built in tour director after lining so many years here, told them that it was one of the more interesting and scenic places on the island. A fishing village abandoned in the 19th century, it dated back to prehistoric times, and was an excavated archaeological site, allowing visitors to see a chronological progression of every phase of Hawaiian culture. The best preserved and largest such site in the whole island chain, it was a designated historical landmark and not be missed.

After the visit they would go to a local restaurant owned by one of Michonne's friends that was right on the beach, for their own private luau, including a roast pig as a welcome to the reunion dinner, now that everyone they knew for sure was coming, was here.

First though, came the hurdle of Daryl and Shane's reaction to Rick. So far he was behaving himself, the flirting with Beth notwithstanding, and Carol hoped he would do as promised, back off from Daryl and leave tomorrow with no hassle. She'd texted a message to Daryl, asking him to rethink the punch in the face, for the sake of the reunion, and promised him Rick would leave tomorrow. She hoped that was enough.

The three men came through the door and the tension they brought with them twisted the room up tight. Everyone stood and Rick waited for the others to approach rather than going to them. Carol went to Daryl, taking his hand in hers, while Abe and Shane went forward to greet Andrea and T-Dog.

Though they tried not to make it obvious, everyone was waiting to see what both Shane and Daryl did next. Shane went to Beth, giving her a little kiss of greeting, noting that she'd been sitting with Rick, who he gave a bit of a side eye before finally holding out his hand.

"Grimes." Shane said with a grudging politeness.

"Walsh." Rick said pleasantly and shook the hand. "You have a lovely young friend there; Miss Greene is quite the lively conversationalist."

"Mmm hmm." Shane said, staring Rick down.

Rick released Shane's hand with a little chuckle, shaking his out to acknowledge the strength of the other man's grip.

Abe greeted Rick next, and Grimes was equally affable. From across the room Rick caught Daryl's eye right after Dixon hugged Andrea and the two men exchanged a nod, Daryl's face carefully blanked. They then pretty much pretended that the other didn't exist until it was time to leave.

Carol supposed it was better than a punch in the face, but not nearly as satisfying.

* * *

"And just off these cliffs is a sheltered bay giving access to rich fishing in the deep seas below. King Kamehameha the first himself enjoyed coming here to fish and had his house right over there." their guide, a Hawaiian native, told the group, who made appreciative noises of recognition for the name.

"His rival, Kahekili came here as well and as part of his _luakini_ preparations for war, would make his warriors jump from these heights to the ocean below to prove their bravery. That opening in the wall is still called Kahekili's Leap. Don't get too close now! Unless you want to hot dog it over the edge to show off to your best girl or have a death wish, depending on the tide." the guide grinned.

They all made their way back down to the lower village area to the Interpretive Center, where the guide showed them several interesting artifacts discovered in the excavations.

Carol was standing on the edge of the crowd, distracted with thoughts about what would happen at the end of the week. Would Daryl come to Atlanta? Would she and Sophia go to California? The Christmas holidays were coming up soon, maybe then—

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft touch to her shoulder.

"We need to grab a couple of minutes to talk about the arrangements for tomorrow." Rick said in a quiet voice. "Walk with me?"

Carol looked around to see what the others were doing. Most were listening intently to the guide, who was entertaining and informative, full of stories about the people who once called this place home. Daryl and Abe were his guinea pigs, trying to attach the replicas of ancient fishing lures to modern deep sea fishing line, not very successfully and to much laughter.

Carol nodded at Rick and they moved away from the group. T gave her a questioning glance, but she signaled to him that she was all right.

A half an hour later when the guide's presentation was finished, Daryl looked for Carol to share a smile, but didn't find her in the crowd. He started asking everyone if they had seen her.

"I saw her go off with Rick a bit ago—she said she was fine." T-Dog said, but Daryl's reaction made him realize he'd been right to worry.

Calls to their cell phones went unanswered. Daryl organized search parties of two and they started combing the site.

When another half hour had gone by with no sight of them, Daryl climbed the heights back to the heiau cliff where the war sacrifices had been made during Kamehameha's time. His search partner Andrea struggled to keep up, so fast was he moving.

Standing at the edge of Kahekili's Leap, facing the sheer drop to the ocean below, was Rick, silent and still.

" _Rick? Where's Carol?"_ Daryl called, and when the other man turned, Daryl's heart stopped.

Rick had his arm locked around Carol's neck in a choke hold, holding a knife to her chest. Her arms were tied behind her back, her scarf knotted as a gag in her mouth. Her blouse was open, ripped, and her bra looked like it had been cut in half at the center. The point of the blade was almost touching the curve of her left breast, just over her heart.

"She told me this is paradise." Rick said, his eyes glittering as he looked at Daryl, "I remember you once damned me to hell."

"Rick...just...just let her go." Daryl said, holding his right hand out placatingly, while with the left he motioned the other coming up the path behind him to stay back.

"I wouldn't come any closer." Rick said mildly, "And no one else should try and run or call for help either...take the batteries out and throw your cell phones over here!" he said to Daryl and Andrea who had just arrived on the scene.

Daryl and Andrea complied, tossing their cells within Rick's reach. He stepped forward and crushed them under his boot heel.

"You stand witness. Anyone tries anything..." Rick continued and he pushed down on the knife at Carol's breast just hard enough to break skin.

Carol gasped at the hot slice and felt the blood start to drip down her chest.

" _Rick!"_ Andrea screamed, horrified.

" _Andrea shut up!"_ Daryl bit out without turning to look at her.

Andrea sucked in a breath and put her hand on Daryl's back in support.

"Why don't you tell me what's happening here Rick?" Daryl said carefully, "I want to understand."

Rick jutted out his chin and narrowed his eyes, shaking his head to clear the sweat that was dripping off his forehead, catching in his brows, the salt biting his eyes.

"I wanted to show her...how good it would be...all of us together...she was supposed to help me. Explain it to you, like that night, that last night, she liked it, you saw...she liked it then; us together, kissing her, touching her." Rick said, looking vague and unsure. "That was the plan. You love her, I love you both, and you'd love _us_ then."

"Rick please..." Daryl said, "We can talk, work it all out..."

"She didn't want me. I had to _show_ her..." Rick turned his knife hand slightly so his knuckles brushed over Carol's nipple, stiff in the chill ocean air, lightly rubbing it, back and forth. "So pretty..."

Carol closed her eyes, humiliation and fear etched on her face.

"I see why you wanted her so badly...so soft...like a peach...no, a _strawberry..._ juicy with those delicious freckles, this soft ass, those fiery curls..." he ground his hips against her bottom lewdly and Carol involuntarily whimpered. "...but she didn't want _me_." Rick said, looking sternly at Carol.

"What did you _do_ , Rick?" Daryl said, and the cold menace in his voice made Carol's eyes come open again.

"I had to _show_ her, make her behave." Rick said self-righteously, "She's the _third_ ; she's just the fuck toy so you'll play. She needed to _know_ that."

Daryl had to take a few precious seconds to get himself under control. The murderous rage building inside him thinking of what Rick may have done to Carol while he'd been searching for them was taking away his ability to think rationally. Then he calmed, knowing what he had to do.

"Do we really _need_ a third any more, Rick?" Daryl asked, putting a seductive touch of gravel in his voice, his posture relaxing.

Carol's eyes went wide and she tried to shake her head back and forth, willing him to stop. She knew what he was trying to do, but Rick was so far gone it was too dangerous.

Rick's head tilted to the side, staring at Daryl, listening...

"It was too much...back then...I was too young... I couldn't handle the way it made me feel, being with you like that; it scared me... how much I _wanted_ you." Daryl said, his voice now shy, almost as if he was channeling his nineteen year old self.

"And now?" Rick asked, interested but wary.

"I've been around—fucked around a lot more—now I know what we had was _special._..but after I told you to stay out of my life back then I didn't think you ever wanted to see me again." Daryl looked at Carol, apology in his eyes for every lie he was spinning. "Thought I had to settle for this, for _her_ ; what people expected of me; settle for a wife and kids," and then he looked lovingly at Rick, "when all I really wanted was _you_."

"So if Carol wasn't here?" Rick asked, looking over his shoulder at the long drop and then back at Daryl, raising his eyebrows.

"Carol's our _friend,_ Rick." Daryl said calmly, though in his head the pulse at his throat was hammering away more loudly than the surf crashing below. "You don't want to hurt her..."

"I already did." Rick admitted, now sounding unsure. "She'll tell...I'll get in trouble...can't be with you if she _tells_."

"She won't. She knows you didn't mean it—you were just trying to show her..." Daryl said, taking a small step forward and holding out his hand. "Just come with me, Rick, leave her here, it's just us now..."

"Tell me you don't love her." Rick said edgily, and the knife pressed in again, making Carol gasp and more red drip down to stain her torn clothes.

"I don't love Carol. I love _you_ , Rick, I've _always_ loved you." Daryl said gently and with great sincerity, walking towards him slowly, both hands held out in supplication.

"I knew it...from the moment I saw you...I knew you were _mine._ " Joy broke over Rick's face and he started to cry.

"That's right...I'm _yours_...not hers...we don't need her." Daryl said soothingly.

Rick seemed to realize he couldn't take Daryl's hands and continue to hold Carol captive so he relaxed his hold on her and started lowering the knife to his side.

It took everything in him for Daryl not to rush to Carol and pull her away from her captor, but he knew if he did that it would break the illusion that he was giving to Rick. Rick was still too close to her and could very easily lunge at her and thrust with the knife before Daryl could stop him.

"I need to hold you, Rick...feel your lips on mine...feel your touch; I've missed you so much..." Daryl coaxed, coming still closer, reaching his hand out to the other man.

Rick dropped his arm from Carol's neck and took her upper arm in his hand, still holding her precariously close to the cliff's edge.

"Andrea, would you come help Carol, please?" Daryl said, all the while smiling warmly at Rick. "She'll take her away, okay?"

Rick nodded, letting go of Carol who stood still, looking terrified for Daryl's safety.

"Go with Andrea now." Daryl ordered her, still looking only at Rick.

Rick rushed to Daryl, throwing his arms around him, the bloody knife still held in the right and grasping the back of Daryl's neck with the left to hold him, and kissed him like a long lost lover, deep and passionate.

While he was distracted, Andrea ran forward and grabbed Carol, dragging her away from the men and working to remove her bonds.

As soon as her gag was removed Carol whispered desperately to Andrea:

" _Run for help, please!"_ hoping Rick was too caught up to notice.

Andrea hesitated, trying to pull Carol along with her, but when Carol couldn't leave Daryl, Andrea took off at a run.

Rick let his hand slide from Daryl's nape to his back until he reached the curve of Dixon's ass, grabbing it and pulling forward so they were pressed tightly against one another. Daryl could feel the cold steel of the knife pressed against his shoulder blade as he lowered his hand to do the same, sickened as he felt Rick's erection push into his belly.

Daryl needed to get the knife away from Rick.

He wasn't sure if Rick had forgotten he was holding it or if it was a silent threat, but it lessened his surety that he could overpower the other man.

Rick continued the kisses over Daryl's face to his jaw, so manically happy now he was shaking.

"We can jump, together. Just like the warriors did—show our courage to be together." Rick whispered into Daryl's ear, taking Daryl's hand in his and pulling him to the edge.

Half way down the trail, Andrea heard Carol's scream.

* * *

 _ **"Kaunolū Village Site** is located on the south coast of the island of Lānaʻi. This former fishing village, abandoned in the 1880s, is the largest surviving ruins of a prehistoric Hawaiian village. The archaeological site is very well preserved and covers almost every phase of Hawaiian culture. It was designated a U. Historic Landmark in 1962[2] and added to the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaiian bone lures used to troll for pelagic fish were found in Ulaula Cave, a small lava tube near the village._

 _King Kamehameha I frequently enjoyed fishing here. His house platform lies directly across the gulch from Halulu Heiau, high on the edge of a cliff above the bay. Between 1778 and 1810, he is said to have held ceremonies at this heiau (probably a luakini war/sacrifice heiau). During the late 18th century, Maui high chief Kahekili, a rival of Kamehameha, also used to visit here. Near the heiau is a notch in the cliff called Kahekili's Leap, where he is said to have ordered his warriors to dive into the sea below to prove their courage."_

 _Source: Wikipedia._


	8. Chapter 8

8.

"We'll take her to the Clinic in Lanai City, but we may need to transfer her Honolulu General." the paramedic told Michonne quietly.

"I'm not going anywhere." Carol said from her place sitting in the back of the ambulance. "Not until they find him."

"Carol, you're hurt, they need to do a further exam...do tests..." Andrea pleaded from her place sitting next to her, pulling the blanket wrapped around Carol tighter, up over her shoulders. T-Dog had taken off his button down short sleeved shirt and given it to cover her when they found her, but the paramedics had unbuttoned it to tend to her knife wounds.

"A rape kit you mean?" Carol said flatly, reaching under the blanket to start buttoning the shirt back up. "You don't have to. He couldn't...he tried but he couldn't."

 _At first Rick had tried seduction, luring her away from the group under the guise of making the arrangements for his departure tomorrow. He'd led her up the path to the cliff side, taking her hand in his to help her up the steep rocky path, telling her how much he admired her strength in escaping her abusive marriage, and that he understood what Daryl had always seen in her. When they reached the top, he pulled her close for a warm hug, which she tentatively returned, but then he'd pressed her against the stone wall and started kissing her neck, touching her, telling her that together they were the best thing for Daryl._

 _Carol tried to be kind; she was a kind person. She asked him to stop, saying that she understood he was hurting, that he loved Daryl, but that this wasn't the answer. Daryl didn't feel the same way about him and she couldn't change that. Furious that she wouldn't help him, he told her he'd show her, make her see. He struck her with the handle of the knife he'd taken from the beach house kitchen and while she was dazed, he bound her wrists with his belt, and then used her scarf to keep her quiet. He tore her blouse, pulled the knife and cut away her bra and lifted her skirt to cut away her panties, touching her, telling her she wasn't just Daryl's, he would make her his now too._

 _But then, when he tried, he couldn't. Whether it was because he'd known her most of their lives or there was some last vestige of sanity that told him it was rape and Daryl would never forgive him, he couldn't. She was literally a cock block to him._

 _Seeing his plan to use her as a lure for Daryl circling the drain, he decided that she was an obstacle to be eliminated. An accidental tragic fall off a dangerous cliff she wandered too close to would eliminate all of his problems. That's when Daryl found them._

 _After she was freed and Andrea ran for help, Carol watched Daryl work to placate Rick, unable to move for fear of setting the deranged man off again. She saw him take Daryl's hand and turn to face the ocean. Daryl's other hand formed a fist and faster than she cold blink he slammed it into Rick's face. Rick staggered back but then came back with the knife, slashing at Daryl as they struggled for the weapon._

 _And then they fell._

 _Carol screamed and ran for the edge, but they were gone..._

"Carol, with the tides...the deep channel here, they would've been washed out to sea. We may never find them..." Michonne said carefully, exchanging a worried glance with Andrea.

The police and search and rescue boats had arrived quickly, but had found no sign of the men. Abe, T-Dog, Shane, Lori and Beth were helping walk the beaches, hoping they had washed up, but to no avail. It had been an hour and a half and they wanted to get Carol to a doctor, but she wouldn't go. She pulled the blanket around her and climbed out of the ambulance and walked to the ocean side view from the lower village.

"He's alive. I know it." Carol said, looking out over the waters of Hulopoe Bay, "I'm not leaving until they find him."

* * *

Daryl was having the oddest dream.

He was floating, warm and safe, as if he was asleep in a bathtub or pool, his favorite tub toy, a smooth rubber penguin, bumping against him as he bobbed along. He turned lazily, but got a mouthful of water, salty and cold, inhaling and choking. Then he was righted, on his back again, the smooth surface of the toy penguin under his hand, holding him up. He opened his eyes and saw a raccoon masked gaze smiling back at him, heard snaps and clicks and whistles all around him, and then felt something big bump his other side, come up under his arm, holding his head above the water.

He remembered falling, so far down, but the blue rushing up to meet him way too fast, going under, the water trying to keep him under, struggling, not sure which way was up... _follow the bubbles..._ an old memory from his scuba classes pushed into his brain and he opened his eyes, looking for that sign and did it, his head breaking the surface. Daryl was a strong swimmer, but he was caught in the tide and felt it carrying him farther and farther from shore.

 _Rick?_

Looking all around him he tried to spot the other man, but only saw the surf and sky, the cliffs of Kahekili's Leap growing ever more distant.

 _Carol._

This couldn't be right. He couldn't die like this when he'd just gotten her back. It wasn't right.

He had to conserve his strength, float with the tide instead of fighting it; hope it carried him to land or into the shipping lanes. How far was the other shore? Lanai was comma shaped, the village on one point of land; would he be carried to the other?

The deeper water was cold, he knew hypothermia could set in, kept his arms and legs moving slowly, worked to keep his head above water...

Something bumped and nudged him again and he opened his eyes. The mocking face of the biggest spinner dolphin admonished him with a shake of its head and a series of rapid clicks. _Don't fall asleep._

Daryl looked around and saw he was at the center of an entire pod, about fifteen adults; some with bowling pin sized young swimming beside them. Two large adults were holding him up, carrying him out of the tide, their strong tails propelling them along at speed.

He turned, searching the horizon. How far out had he drifted before they found him? There, in the distance he saw something—land! The shoreline of what he hoped was Lanai, but the dolphins were carrying him in the opposite direction. _Shit._

It wasn't exactly like he could ask them politely to please turn around... could he?

"Hey! Guys? Dolphin... people? I really appreciate you saving me and all, but—"

The big spinner made that series of clicks again, this time adding a few squeals and a blow hole exhalation for emphasis.

"Yes, thank you, but see, I need _land_ —I live on land—I like you and all, but I can't _stay_ with you!" Daryl tried, his voice weak.

The dolphins ignored him.

"Fuckin' dolphins." Daryl said, spitting out the water that trying to talk to them had allowed to rush into his mouth.

Then the creatures altered their pace, a few making ever wider circles ahead while the ones carrying Daryl slowed to a crawl. Daryl looked off in the direction where the others had gone and couldn't believe what he saw.

A god damned _boat._ A Coast Guard cutter! The fucking dolphins had brought him to a rescue ship.

* * *

Shouts came from down the shore and Carol could see people running, heading for an outcropping of rocks between the two bays, Hulopoe and Manele. There was an underwater cave there and several local divers had volunteered to go down and search it since it was filled at high tide. She watched as two men in wetsuits appeared, carrying something between them, and before Michonne and Andrea could stop her she was running down the sand towards them.

Abe was kneeling next to the form on the sand beside Gillespie, the local police sergeant who was running the search and investigation.

"Is that him?" the sergeant asked.

"Oh God!" Beth cried, turning away, and Shane pulled her close to his chest and held her.

"It is." Abe nodded, shaking his head. "Stupid bastard."

They all looked up, hearing Andrea and Michonne calling to Carol to stop, to wait, but T-Dog intercepted her, stopping her from getting too close.

"It's _Rick_ , Carol." T said, "Not Daryl, _Rick_."

"I need to _see_." Carol said, pushing against him until he released her.

Lori, Michonne and Andrea formed a protective half circle at her back as Carol went closer and then stopped next to Abe, sinking to the sand beside him.

Rick's eyes were open, blue and sightless, his lips almost the same shade of blue. His clothes were torn and shredded and he was bruised where he'd been battered against the rocks. Carol looked down at his hands and then started to laugh, soft and dry.

" _His watch is still running..."_

And then she was sobbing, falling forward, beating her fists onto his brine cold quiet chest, done.

Abe grabbed her up, lifting her and standing, ready to carry her back to the ambulance, looking helplessly at the rest of the group who were all either crying or struggling against it. All of them knowing it was only a matter of time until the current churned up Daryl's body as well.

The sergeant's cell phone squawked to life and he grabbed it up, sorrow for the people he'd come to help making him sigh before depressing the button, dreading the news.

"Gillespie. Yeah, they're all here." He paused, listening and then his eyebrows shot up in incredulity. "What? Say again? You're _shittin_ ' me." and he started laughing uproariously.

Disturbed that the man could be so insensitive, T-Dog got in his face.

"Hey man, we got a loss here—"

Gillespie let his laugh become a broad smile instead and he clasped T on the shoulder as he kept talking into the phone. .

"All right! Shit yeah I'll relay the message! Roger that." And then he hung up and beamed at all of them.

"That was our base—they said the Coast Guard just fished a guy out of a pod of Spinners about a mile off shore—he's pretty out of it—just keeps saying _"Call Carol."_

Lori's hand flew to her mouth and Abe set Carol down on her feet, keeping an arm around her to make sure she stayed standing while Lori flew at her and hugged her. Shane squeezed Beth tight and then spun her around, giving a war whoop of joy. Andrea and Michonne hugged each other, almost jumping up and down in happiness and then both of them grabbed T-Dog, laughing and talking a mile a minute.

" _Where?_ Where is he? Is he okay?" Carol asked the cop, not sure she could believe it _. "Spinners?"_

" _Dolphins, Carol!"_ Michonne said, wonder in her voice. "Daryl got saved by a bunch of _dolphins_!"

" _Dolphins?"_ Carol asked the sergeant, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I've heard of it happening, some pretty well documented cases on record, but I've never seen one in person." Gillespie said, scratching his head. "Pretty miraculous, but it does happen."

"It's like Daryl got rescued by fairies or mermaids..." Beth said fancifully, making everyone smile.

"They're taking him to the Lanai City Clinic to get checked out." The sergeant told them. "If you head back up to the ambulance, Ms. Mason, we'll get you there before the Coast Guard even docks."

"Thank you." Carol said, overwhelmed, but before she let Abe lift her again, she took one last look at the body on the beach which the divers had already loaded onto a Stokes stretcher for transport and covered with a grey blanket.

" _The bravest warrior survived the leap."_ Carol whispered, _"And then the Sea gave him back to me..."_

* * *

 **AN:** In case you agree with B-th and think my tale of Daryl's rescue sounds a bit fanciful, it's actually based on true facts:

 _Source Info:_

"Located on Lanai's southern coast, Hulopoe Bay greets you with a stunning expanse of pearl-white sand and crystal blue waters. As a protected site, rich with marine life, visitors are asked to leave every stone and shell in its place. This helps preserve the bay for Hawaii's colorful, native fish and sea life... Acrobatic _**spinner dolphins**_ can often be seen in Hulopoe Bay, while the winter months bring visits from humpback whales." Source:

From NPR reporter Dave Davies' interview with Susan Casey about her book, Voices in the Ocean: A Journey into the Wild and Haunting World of Dolphins:

 _CASEY: So I had driven to a part of Maui. I was visiting the island, and it's a place I'd been before...There were gray clouds, but I decided to go for a swim anyway._ _..._ _a pod of spinner dolphins...materialized from the ocean like ghosts, shimmering in the ether._ _One of the bigger spinners approached slowly, watching me. For a moment, we hung there in the water and looked at one another, exchanging what I can only describe as a profound cross-species greeting. His eyes were banded subtly with black markings that trailed to his pectoral fins like an especially delicate bank robber's mask. I wondered if he was the pod's guardian, if others followed his lead._

 _The dolphins were traveling in small but distinct clusters - couples,_ _ **threesomes**_ _, klatches of four or five - and within those little groups, they maintained close body contact. I saw fins touching like hand-holding, bellies brushing across backs, heads tilted toward other heads, beaks slipped under flukes. The entire group could have darted away in an instant, but they chose instead to stay with me._

 _Spinners are known for their athletics, rocketing out of the water in aerial leaps whenever the urge strikes, but these dolphins were relaxed. They showed no fear, despite the presence of several baby spinners tucked in beside their mothers, replicas the size of bowling pins. The dolphins had simply enfolded me in the gathering, and I could hear their clicks and buzzes underwater, their cryptic aquatic conversation._

 _I dove 10 feet down, and the big dolphin appeared beside me again, even closer. He had coloration like a penguin's - dark on top and tuxedo white on his belly, with a long slender beak. At eight feet long, he was a powerful animal, but nothing in his body language suggested hostility. We stayed together for maybe 10 minutes, but the meeting felt eternal, as though time were suspended in the water with us._

 _DAVIES: There are some remarkable stories of them coming to the assistance of humans in the ocean. You want to share a couple of them?_

 _CASEY: My absolute favorite story comes from a scientist who was studying a pod of bottlenose dolphins along the coast of Los Angeles. One gray foggy morning, she was in her research boat, trailing along as they were just doing their average hunting, looking for fish..._

 _So they got about three miles out to sea in the fog, and the dolphins had formed a circle. And the scientist looked, and in the center of the circle, there was a young girl floating. She had a plastic bag wrapped around her neck with a suicide note and her ID. And she was very close to dead, but she wasn't dead. And the dolphins had basically led the scientist directly to her. And it was far enough offshore that it was just one of those, how do you describe - how do you explain that? I - it's thinking about that story and knowing that it was a scientist observing it. That to me is enough to really make me want to understand more of what's going on with these animals._

 _DAVIES: The girl was saved._

 **Just like Daryl;-)**


	9. Chapter 9

_We start with another flashback, this time to when Daryl met Carol in freshman year._

* * *

9.

"Who's that girl?" Daryl asked in a low voice, watching people start to drift in to the living room for the first house meeting. He'd taken the last empty room, a very small single in the attic, still bigger than his room at home had been, but it was so tiny that Andrea, the girl who seemed to be in charge of things, had said he could have it for the same price as a double.

"Which one?" Rick asked. There were three young women coming through the door, a curvy blonde, Andrea, a slender brunette, the fiery one Rick had his eye on, Lori, in low slung tight jeans and a crop top that showed part of a blue tattoo and last, a petite redhead with crazy corkscrew curls pulled back off her temples with a couple of barrettes keeping them out of her big blue eyes. Her demure loose fitting pink blouse had tiny white flowers on it and her jeans were simple boot cut Wranglers in a dark wash.

"Redhead." Daryl murmured.

"Carol, Carol Mason, she's from my home town." Rick shrugged. She was a cute little thing, but someone he's always thought of like a little sister, despite the fact they were the same age.

"You date her?" Daryl asked, curious. For some reason he couldn't put his finger on he really wanted Rick's answer to be _no..._

"Naw—she didn't date." Rick told him, "Her parents were real strict 'bout stuff like that. Hell, I doubt if sweet lil' Carol's ever been kissed." Rick elbowed Daryl and whispered in a low growl, "You up for exploring virgin territory, son?"

" _Shut the fuck up."_ Daryl grunted, blushing, shoving at Rick, knocking him off the arm of the big wing chair he'd been perched on, the old worn out one Daryl was slouched down in.

That action drew everyone's attention to the two of them, including the brunette and redhead.

The brunette Lori gave Rick a broad sultry smile and rolled her eyes at their antics.

The redhead, Carol, recognizing Rick, headed right for them, dragging Lori in her wake.

"Rick Grimes! Is that really you?" Carol said happily, looking overjoyed to see someone she knew amongst all the new strangers.

Rick stood up and accepted the brief hug Carol gave him.

"Hey Carol—how have you been?" Rick asked.

"I haven't seen you since graduation—where have you been all summer?"

"Had a job up north of the ATL—spent all summer up there—lived and worked in the state forest marking trees for cutting and even got to fight a couple of small fires." Rick was in school for a degree program in Fire Service management with a minor in Forestry.

"Sounds like it was right up your alley—what a great way to spend your summer—good for you!" Carol said encouragingly.

It had been a chance he'd jumped at; a chance to get out of his parents' house and be on his own in a place where nobody knew him. Every opportunity he was given to indulge his need for sexual adventure, he'd taken it. Weekends in Atlanta and the semi-private shared dorm space at the camp made the availability of willing partners of both sexes like living in a candy store for him. It was everything he'd read and dreamed about doing while hiding in his sheltered life within the perfect suburban small town family.

He'd come back sexually primed and excited about what college life would offer. He wanted a girlfriend, someone not so prim they wouldn't sleep with him, but not the kind of girl with whom he'd act on his more... _erotic_ impulses. He was shopping for a wife that he'd be happy with, one with whom he'd make a home and have kids. One he could love.

And the other? If he wanted to get fucked? Ridden hard and put away wet? Well, more than one of his new friends from the summer lived in nearby Atlanta. And maybe there were opportunities even closer to home...

"Where are my manners?" Rick said, sounding chagrined, and then made introductions since he was the only one of them who knew everyone there, "Carol Mason, Lori Parmenter, this is Daryl Dixon."

Daryl squinted uncomfortably and nodded at both women before settling even deeper in the chair.

"I like your boots." Carol said to Daryl, "I've been saving up to get this awesome pair I saw—Doc Martens, five buckles up the fronts, black."

Daryl couldn't think of a thing to say in response to that revelation. He was having a hard time picturing this dainty little mouse of a girl in that kind of hot boots.

"Daryl has a motorcycle." Rick said after the silence of everyone waiting for Daryl to say something back to Carol's compliment and comment got to be too uncomfortable.

"Hence the boots." Lori nodded, gesturing at Daryl's feet. "Maybe when Carol gets her boots you can take her for a ride."

"Don't have a bitch seat." Daryl said without thinking. All he meant was that his bike couldn't accommodate a passenger, but had used the common motorcycle riders' term for that kind of double seat. Someone as small as Carol might fit on his bike though, if she squashed up close to his back and put her arms real tight around him...

Carol's cheeks flamed and Lori glared at Daryl angrily, protective of the other girl though they'd just met. She put her arm around Carol's shoulders and led her to the other side of the room.

" _Shit."_ Daryl said, realizing how it must've sounded to the girls; like he was calling _Carol_ a bitch...

" _Smooth_ Dixon. Have women eating out of your hand all the time, don'tcha?" Rick razzed him.

Daryl felt like he was going to throw up. This was why he hated social situations. He invariably fucked up and said the wrong thing.

"Don't worry—I'll go explain what you meant."Rick said, clasping him on the shoulder. "But don't think you can sneak out—the meeting is mandatory if you want to stay in the house."

"Thanks, man." Daryl said quietly, doing his best to sink even further into the surface of the chair cushions.

The next morning when she opened her bedroom door Carol found a bouquet of wildflowers in a Mason jar vase with an envelope taped to it. Printed in neat block letters on the envelope were the words "BOOT FUND" and inside it was a wrinkled five dollar bill.

Rick had explained what he knew about Daryl's situation to her when he'd apologized and explained that the other boy hadn't meant any offense. She learned later just how little money Daryl Dixon was living on. That gift was for him the equivalent of several days' food budget. He lived on Ramen, Kraft Mac and cheese and Kool-Aid.

Not wanting to embarrass him, she went to Andrea and asked if they could all get to know each other better by having twice weekly pot lucks, where they could all eat together, everyone bringing what they could to share. She always made a point of making a big meatloaf or ribs or roasting a couple of chickens, claiming they were practice homework for her culinary arts classes and making sure enough was left-over to make sandwiches the next day. The cookies she baked in double batches so she could stick a dozen or so in a bag, leaving them on the seat of Daryl's bike.

Daryl knew it was her who left them, but he never thanked her by coming right out and saying it. Instead he did things for her like scraping the snow and ice off her car in the rare Georgia winter storms, making sure it had washer fluid and changing the oil when needed. It was an odd little courtship of sorts. She fed him and he watched over her. They spoke rarely, but when they did it was comfortable. She even got to the point where she would tease him just to see him blush and hear his protests, telling her to _stop_ or even giving her a little elbow nudge as he did it. Once she even called him "Pookie" and he thought he would melt right onto the floor from how adorable her giggle at his indignation was.

Once that first year when he'd been exhausted from working nights and taking an overload of classes, he'd come back to the house and heard a bunch of them in the living room planning the ski vacation they were going on over Winter break. Rick and Shane were bragging about their new skis and the girls tittered excitedly over their new ski jackets and bib overalls.

Rick had been spending all of his free time with Lori, now officially his girlfriend, leaving Daryl on his own a lot, which he guessed he understood, but he felt lonely and shut out just the same. A trip like what they were planning was impossible for him and his frustration and anger over all of it had him slamming his fist into the hallway wall. Afterwards he looked dumbly down at his bleeding knuckles and at the fist shaped hole in the cheap plaster board surface of the wall.

"Come in the kitchen and I'll clean that up for you." a soft voice said from behind him.

Daryl whirled in embarrassment.

Carol stood there looking at him, no admonition nor amusement in her gaze, only empathy.

He let her walk past him and then without thinking followed her into the kitchen even though his fight or flight response wanted to lash out at her or retreat to his attic room.

She led him to the sink and washed off his hand without a word, and then had him sit in one of the kitchen chairs holding a clean dish towel to it while she got some rubbing alcohol and bandages from the half bath off the kitchen. The bite of the alcohol made him hiss, but he held still for her, afraid if he moved she'd stop and he'd lose the gentle touch of her hands on his.

"I'm not going either." Carol said, still looking down at his hand.

"Why not? Miss a chance to see pretty boys Shane and Rick hot doggin' it down the slopes on their new skis? Show off your cute little snow bunny outfit?" Daryl knew he sounded surly, but couldn't help it. He was tired; tired of just scraping by; tired of having less than everyone else. "That's the crowd you run with right? Why're you wasting your time in here on the no-good likes a' me?"

"You're every bit as good as them, every bit." Carol admonished him, squeezing his hand, meeting his eyes and he saw in their azure depths only truth.

He stared at her, wondering again why she bothered with him.

Other than Rick, no one had ever treated him like this, like he was special, like she cared about him. She broke his heart with her kindnesses and honest praise, knowing he loved her a little more every day, but that he could never tell her. He always treated her with the utmost respect; she was special to him, like one of those little glass figurines in that play about the girl who loved blue roses...too good for the likes of him...too fragile to handle the harsh realities of his life.

Back then that was the difference between her and Rick. With Rick he didn't have to suppress that baser part of himself; with Rick he could _be_ himself, at least who he _feared_ he would be, some lesser avatar of his father... Until even that got all twisted with the sexual explorations and the obsession he'd never understood until it was too late.

Now he knew better. Carol was strong, just as resilient as he'd had to be to get beyond the abuse doled out to him from the time he could walk. She'd made it through her own hell and come out the other side.

With Carol, now, he was who he'd always wanted to be, what she'd always said he was, as good as any of the rest of them, an honorable man.

She was asleep, in the chair beside his hospital bed when he awoke; the first thing he saw and the most welcome of sights he could imagine upon waking. She was pale, and the dark circles under her eyes were purple and blue, her lips barely a blush of pink making her seem cold, drowned...a sudden fear roused him and he sat up quickly but then fell back just as quickly, frustrated by his own weakness.

Hearing him move brought her immediately awake, blinking against the bright morning light. When she saw his eyes were open she smiled and came out of her chair to sit beside him on the bed, facing him. She found his hand and held it in one of hers, using the other to brush the hair back off his forehead.

"So I hear you made some new friends." Carol said, the soft words teasing and tearful as she smiled down at him.

"Don't say much, good swimmers though." Daryl croaked through salt cracked lips, his brine burned throat dry and tight with emotion.

Carol nodded and smiled through her tears and he tugged her closer until she fell against his chest, hugging him close. His arms went around her and they kissed in reunion. Then she raised the back of the hospital bed for him to be able to sit up and he held her hand, looking her over, seeing the bandages peeking out through the V and collar of her overlarge shirt.

"You okay?" Daryl asked hoarsely.

"I'm fine." Carol told him, raising her hand to her chest. "Only took a couple of stitches."

Daryl stared at her, searching for anything she wasn't telling him.

"I'm _fine_ , Daryl." Carol repeated and then said more softly, "He didn't hurt me any more than this. He _didn't_."

Daryl leaned over and pulled her into his arms again, relief pouring off of him.

"Rick?" Daryl asked, all of his complicated feelings about the man who had once been his closest friend caught up in that one syllable: love, hate, fear, anger, sadness, regret...

Carol raised her head to look at him.

Daryl saw the pain there and nodded in understanding, releasing her to sit back.

"The police want to talk to you, get your version of what happened. Andrea says she doesn't think they mean to charge you, but when there's a death..." Carol explained.

"I don't think he was trying to kill me—when he wanted us to jump?" Daryl said, his voice painful to listen to.

"He just wanted you all to himself." Carol responded, pouring him a cup of water and handing it to him, feeling a shaft of fear shoot through her again as she remembered watching them both fall over the edge of the cliff.

Daryl sighed, but then drank the water down.

There was a knock on the door and Andrea stuck her head in, smiling broadly and coming into the room when she saw he was awake.

"Someone should call his folks." Daryl said, stopping Andrea and sobering her.

"I already did." Carol said quietly. Her parents and Rick's had been friends, they were good people. She felt she owed it to them not to have to hear that news from a stranger.

Daryl had been holding it together until he heard that. Rick's parents had been so good to him during their college years and Mrs. Grimes had still sent him a holiday card every year until he'd moved to California with no forwarding address.

The grace it had taken for Carol to give such mercy to them after what Rick had done and _tried_ to do to her...that broke him. Tears started running down his face and he choked out a thank you and then she was holding him again.

"I talked them into letting us take Daryl home—back to the beach house—and coming back in for questioning...and the other... tomorrow." Andrea said to Carol, "Just come get me when you're ready."

Carol nodded and thanked her.

Andrea nodded back and left.

Daryl's hitched breathing betrayed the effort it was taking him to control his sobs.

"It's okay, we're okay..." Carol said gently, her hand cradling the back of his head to her shoulder, "But I know you...you have to let yourself feel it...you will, it's okay, I'm here."

Daryl's hands gripped the back of her shirt and gave in to the need to lose himself to his sorrow and relief.

" _I almost lost you..."_ Daryl gasped, holding her even tighter.

"I almost lost _you._ " Carol replied in kind, rocking him a bit until he was quieter, more visibly relaxed in her arms.

"Sophia's gonna love the dolphin story." Daryl mumbled into her shoulder.

Carol sat up straighter again, looking down at him with an odd sort of wincing smile.

"She does." Carol said. "She's seen it."

"What?" Daryl rasped.

"Well, there was a dolphin researcher who follows that pod on board the Coast Guard boat and she sort of...got the whole rescue on film." Carol said, getting it all out.

"Really?" Daryl asked, but then thought that was kind of cool; he'd like to see the animals that had saved him.

"And the researcher put it on YouTube and it went viral." Carol said all in a rush. "The wire service and AP picked it up and Andrea's been negotiating with reporters about who gets to interview you."

"No shit?" Daryl asked, nonplussed.

"After the police clear you of any fault in Rick's death, Carol said more quietly. "Andrea's telling them it was an accidental fall from Kahekili's Leap...two old friends horsing around got too close to the edge. Rick slipped and fell, you tried to grab on to him to save him and you both went over."

Daryl frowned at her. Why whitewash the story?

"I told the police the truth about what happened." Carol told him, "And the rest of the group knows, but no one else. Rick's dead. He paid for what he did. You're not. That's all anyone else needs to know."

Daryl nodded slowly, showing his agreement. Bringing up the motivations for Rick's actions would only make the whole incident sound tabloid lurid and let him continue to have an influence on their lives.

"She wants to talk to you too," Carol said, and then clarified, "Denise, Dr. Cloyd, the dolphin researcher?" The scientist stopped in to check on Daryl while he was still asleep, anxious to talk to him when he was ready.

"She's seen this before?" Daryl asked.

"No, never." Carol told him, and smiled, "I think she wants to know what's so special about _you_."

Daryl grunted at that.

"You are, you know, you're special to _me_." Carol said, "You always have been."

"When I wasn't sticking my foot in my mouth or putting my fist through walls." Daryl reminded her of how awkward and defensive he'd been when they first met.

"Even then." Carol assured him and he smiled at her in amazement, wondering at how he had been lucky enough to find her again and again, each time he'd thought he'd lost her forever.

* * *

 **AN:** When I saw Merritt Weaver was playing Dr. Denise Cloyd on TWD this coming season I had to throw her in there-I loved her on  Nurse Jackie!

Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

10.

"Are you sure this tie is okay?" Daryl asked, nervously tugging at the collar of the gray tailored dress shirt he wore.

"You look very handsome." Carol said, reaching up to straighten the tie that he'd rucked up by messing at his collar, smiling at his unease. He could survive falling off a cliff, but the prospect of meeting one eight year old girl was giving him a panic attack. At times like these she saw a glimpse of the shy kid she'd fallen in love with back in school, but he wasn't that kid anymore, now he was a man.

And he did indeed look quite handsome, a nice mix of casual and formal, his black jeans hugging his long lean legs and butt in all the right ways, his new black motorcycle boots adding a touch of the outlaw to the more conservative shirt, tie and vest.

"I just don't want her to think I'm a jerk." Daryl said, taking a deep breath and huffing it out.

"You hang out with dolphins; in her book that means you're automatically cool." Carol said with a grin, taking his hand in hers.

"Maybe we shoulda waited—have her come with you to California when her school is out—give her more time to adjust to the idea." Daryl said, standing still when she tried to take a step forward.

"Daryl, she's an eight year old, not the Inquisition." Carol chided. "Come on, Jacqui's expecting me to pick her up now, I'm sure she has other things she needs to do today."

"You told her I was gonna be here, right?" Daryl asked, still staring at the door of the split level Atlanta suburban house.

"Yes, _all_ of them. They're excited about meeting you." Carol assured him.

Jacqui was her a dear friend, having done after school care for Sophia since Carol had started working and helping her survive the brutal years of the custody battle. Three years ago when she'd married her husband, Morgan, who was a widower with a son the same age as Sophia, Carol had been her matron of honor and Soph the flower girl. The boy, Duane, was her daughter's best friend.

It was Tuesday. Carol and Daryl had gotten back from Hawaii late the day before yesterday after spending the rest of the week at the beach house recovering from their injuries, surrounded by their friends.

The Coroner's inquest had ruled Rick's death accidental, finding Daryl innocent of any wrongdoing, and the attention had shifted more to his miraculous rescue at sea. He had agreed to one interview only, with the scientist, Dr. Cloyd, who'd been following the pod of dolphins and then let her handle any other press about the incident. Despite trying to keep a low profile about it, a couple million views on YouTube meant he got recognized at the airports in Honolulu, LA and Atlanta, with some people even asking for his autograph.

Sunday night they'd stayed at a hotel near the airport, too jet lagged and exhausted to risk the drive to her house in the southern suburbs. Monday, yesterday, they had taken Rick's ashes to his and Carol's home town, Senoia, to give their condolences in person to his parents. His will had specified cremation and his parents agreed it was easier to have it done in Hawaii than fly the body home. Rick had also asked for his ashes to be scattered at the old house they'd all lived in at college, saying that had been the happiest time of his life. They'd stayed overnight in Senoia, having dinner with the Grimes and after the memorial service this morning they'd agreed to take on that task. At the moment Rick's ashes were in the trunk of Carol's car, which she was trying not to think about.

Coming with Carol to Atlanta had been an easy decision for Daryl. After the week in Hawaii he was all in. His shop in LA had an excellent manager, Bob Stokey, who actually dated Tyreese's sister, Sasha, so he felt fine with staying in Georgia while Carol decided what she wanted to do next. If she didn't want to leave her job, he could open a branch of his business in Atlanta. Several film companies were working out of the city, including the one that produced _Zombie Killers..._ , which meant that there was a regular influx of Hollywood types living and working in the city that would be interested in his work.

To him the biggest fear was that her daughter would object. Sophia had her mom all to herself since the divorce and her last father figure had been the king of assholes. What would she think of this guy suddenly appearing in her life after only spending a week's vacation with her mom?

"Okay?" Carol asked, giving his hand a little squeeze.

Daryl gave another little huff of breath and nodded yes, stepping forward.

Before they could knock, the door swung open inward and a small strawberry blonde projectile shot through, leaping into Carol's arms.

"Momma!" Sophia cried, clinging to her mother like a baby monkey while Carol hugged her back just as hard.

"Hey baby girl." Carol said softly, kissing the top of her little girl's head.

"You must be Daryl." a honey deep female voice said from the doorway.

Daryl looked up and into the deep brown warm eyes of a lovely African American woman, her hair pulled back off her face by a colorful scarf.

"I'm Jacqui." she said and held out her hand to him.

"Pleased to meet you." Daryl said, smiling somewhat shyly as he shook her warm hand.

" _Dolphin_ Daryl?" Sophia turned to look at him, her big blue eyes wide.

Daryl chuckled. That's what the autograph seekers had asked him to sign as, how Dr. Cloyd had identified him on her YouTube video and how the rest of the media referred to him in their stories as well.

"Daryl Dixon in actual fact, though I do have some dolphin friends." Daryl smiled at her.

He'd actually gotten to swim with the pod the day before they left Lanai. Dr. Cloyd had taken them all out in a Zodiac boats to the feeding grounds. Donning scuba gear, Daryl had gone back in the water while Carol and the rest of the reunion group watched from the boats which were about ten yards from the pod. Dr. Cloyd wanted to see if the dolphins recognized him and he had to admit, he wanted to thank them face to face regardless of whether or not they could really understand him. Daryl went into the water backwards, wetting his facemask and putting it on, and then swam towards the dolphins.

Floating eye to eye with the big spinners again, he made no sudden moves. The biggest male swam close and bumped his hand with its long nose and Daryl let it trail down the snout with a bit of a grasp at the end. Putting his head under water he heard the clicks and squeaks as the pod swam around him and then another large one, this one a female, swam under his right hand so he could grab onto its dorsal fin while the biggest male did the same at his left.

Then they dove with him. Fast.

Daryl hung on for dear life as they went down until a glance up showed the undersides of all three of the Zodiacs above him in a triangle. Then they kicked hard with their tails and propelled him to the surface, coming up right in the middle of the small rubber boats, blowing and chattering at him, in what sounded like scolding, and then they dove again, quicksilver fast, only coming up when they were back in the middle of the pod, leaping and twisting in the air as they joined them.

Daryl swam to the boat Carol, Abe, Lori and Denise were in, and he could hear the laughter before he even got the hood of his suit off.

"Couldn't you just hear them?" Abe yelled, helping Daryl out of the water, _"We saved you once already, dummy, Whatta ya doin' out here again?"_

"That was _extraordinary_!" Dr. Cloyd cried out, making notes on her waterproofed I-Pad, which she had also used to film his second encounter with the pod.

"They really did sound like they we telling you to stop falling overboard," Carol teased, helping him take his tanks off.

" _Yeah, yeah!"_ Daryl said, making a sour face, but he couldn't hold it for long in the face of the exhilaration swimming with the spinners had given him. Soon he was grinning and describing what it had been like to feel their power as they pulled him through the deep.

"They're beautiful." Andrea said wistfully, watching the pod playing in the middle distance. "Just like the rest of this place."

"I like it." Michonne said with a warm smile directed at Andrea, "Maybe you would too."

"Think there's a need for another lawyer in paradise?" Andrea asked with a narrow eyes smile.

"Paradise is whatever you want it to be..." Michonne shrugged, a dimple creasing her cheek.

Lori gave a raised eyebrow look to Carol at that little exchange. Perhaps one _more_ couple might find new life thanks to the annual reunions. What they had begun back in college, those friendships, that love, had been strong enough to last a lifetime.

* * *

 _ **Freshman Year**_

"You'll burn." Daryl said, watching Carol start pull her shirt off over her head.

Startled, she almost stumbled, her arms caught in the sleeves of her blouse, and he put out a hand to keep her from falling, just a quick grasp of her shoulder blade until she stopped wobbling, just as quickly released.

Carol pulled her head back through the neck of the shirt and stared at him wide eyed.

The house party was up at the local lake a few miles from campus. They had brought picnic food, hot dogs and marshmallows to roast over a fire after dark, but first there was swimming.

Carol was waiting until everyone else was in the water and swimming out to the float before she undressed down to her suit, trying to slip into the lake unobserved. She was in the shadow of the woods at the edge of the lake near a rise in the shore line, a rope swing used for jumping into the water hanging from the largest of the trees.

Daryl had been late to arrive, apparently having walked since she hadn't heard his motorcycle, and as far as she was concerned he had snuck up on her when she was undressing.

"I'll put on sunscreen—I don't really tan, I freckle." Carol told him, reaching down into her bag and pulling out a bottle of Hawaiian Tropic. She had on flip flops, pink shorts and that same floral print blouse she'd had on the day they'd met. The pink made her red curls more vivid; even though she'd tried to tame them into a short pony tail a few escaped to spring around her elfin face.

Daryl was wearing jean cut-off shorts, a grey blue plaid button down cotton shirt with the sleeves cut off and as a concession to the rocky shore, a pair of disreputable looking tennis shoes, some old Keds with the laces taken out, on his feet, no socks. He had no bag, so she assumed the shorts were his suit or else he wasn't even going to swim. He made no attempt to pull off his shirt or head for the water, so she wondered why he'd bothered to come.

"You want some?" she asked him, holding out the sunscreen, wondering if that's why he wasn't getting ready to go in—he hadn't brought the right stuff.

"Already got it on. I don't freckle or tan, I _fry_ —too much sun makes me sick. Don't even own trunks." Daryl told her, a blush riding on his cheek bones. He chewed at a thumb nail self consciously.

It was a hot late summer Saturday two weeks into the semester, almost 90, and they had both been coerced into coming along by their new friends. When she'd tried to beg off by telling them she hadn't brought a bathing suit to school, one was quickly procured from Andrea, who was a life guard at the country club pool in her home town and owned several.

Rick had seen it as an opportunity to get closer to Lori and told Daryl he need him there as wingman, the duties of which seemed to consist of making sure no one else got close to his friend's target. Having gotten off work late though had screwed up Rick's plan to have him take up the third seat in the cab of his truck, the back of which was used to haul the coolers of food and beverages.

"Well, I'm as pale as milk and this is one of Andrea's suits so I don't fill out the top anywhere near what it's made for, so I was hoping no one would see me out of the water in it. Perhaps spending the day in the sun at a lake was _not_ either of our best choice of leisure activity." Carol said archly.

"Yeah, tell Rick that." Daryl snorted, "He claims I owe him for getting him into the house so I had to show today to help him with..." his voice trailed off as he looked out to the float in the middle of the lake. There were girlish screams as Rick lifted Lori up and threatened to toss her in. She struggled against him, all long tan legs and taut abs in her black bikini, but she was laughing, enjoying the game.

"With Lori?" Carol asked, raising an eyebrow as she watched the shenanigans. "I don't really think he needs much help."

Lori's struggles pulled Rick to the edge of the platform and then over the side. When they came back up beside the float, they were kissing, and Carol didn't want to know what their hands were doing under the surface of the water.

"Some days I don't know what the hell to think." Daryl sighed. It seemed his rush to get here after work, the flat tire on his bike and the subsequent long hot walk had been for nothing.

"Well, I'm all sticky and sweaty, the water looks cool and inviting, so _I_ think I'll forget you're standing there and take off my clothes." Carol said with a false confidence she hoped her shaking hands didn't betray.

Daryl's eyes went wide when she unbuttoned and unzipped her little pink shorts and slid them off her hips, stepped out of them, folded them neatly and turned to put them in her bag.

When she bent over, Daryl's mouth went dry, his heart went double time and his dick said _hello gorgeous..._ Before she could turn back around he quickly adjusted himself and then pulled his shirt tails out of his shorts to cover the evidence of what she did to him.

Still turned away from him, Carol unbuttoned and pulled off her blouse, folding and adding it to the pile on her bag. The dark navy one piece suit she wore was modest, and on Andrea would've clung to her more curvaceous figure tightly. On Carol it fit her hips and ass to perfection, but the top was, as Carol had said _, looser_.

She turned back around holding the suntan lotion and an odd little smile played over her lips. She cocked her hip and tilted her head, staring at him silently.

" _What?"_ Daryl said, and his voice broke a little when he saw how her freckles trailed down over her collar bones and then seemed to just stop at the neckline of the suit.

"I can't reach my back." Carol said, a little frown line appearing between her eyebrows. "Like you said, I'll _burn..."_ and then she held the lotion out to him.

Daryl was caught.

Swallowing hard, he took the lotion from her and made a circular motion with his other hand, indicating that he wanted her to turn around and she did as he asked. The back of the suit scooped down low, showing off an expanse of creamy skin, more freckles scattered over her shoulders.

Daryl stepped in close enough to touch her. He squirted the lotion into the palm of his left hand and then tucked the bottle under his left arm. Drawing his hands together he warmed the white creamy liquid by rubbing them together and then starting at her shoulders began to lightly apply it to her skin. He felt her shiver, and knowing it wasn't because the lotion was cold, but rather from his touch, made his hands start to shake. She was _so_ fucking _soft_ and delicate...

He looked over her shoulder and then had to start counting from one-hundred backwards, trying to get control of himself. The too large suit was gaping away from her chest and he could see all the way to her navel. Two pale perfect breasts with tight rosebud nipples rose and fell with her uneven breaths.

If he didn't just stop _touching_ her he was fucked.

Daryl gave a last quick few swipes to her back and stepped away. He tossed the lotion in the general direction of her bag, wiped his hands on his shirt and ran, not walked, to the rope swing hanging out over the deepest part of the lake and took the leap, swinging out as far as the rope would carry him. Releasing it, yelling a long drawn out " _Shiiiiit!"_ his momentum carried him halfway to the float, for which he got a whooping hollering standing ovation from its occupants.

Carol watched him and felt an odd sort of satisfaction. She'd felt his rough hands on her, how they'd trembled. She didn't know much about flirting, but for her first time, she thought it had gone rather well.

* * *

 _ **Present Day**_

"You n' my mom went to school together?" Sophia asked Daryl, eyeing him speculatively from her mother's arms.

"Yep, we did. College." Daryl said.

"I saw you in her old print outed picture books." Sophia nodded, meaning photo albums, staring closely. "You're _bigger_ now...and more _hairy_..."

"Sophia!" Carol admonished, embarrassed at her daughter's assessment.

"Guess I am." Daryl fingered his chin whiskers and grinned at the child.

"How come I ain't met you before like Aunt Andrea?' Sophia asked. "She went to school with mom too."

" _Haven't_ met." Carol corrected, "Daryl lives far away, in California, all the way across the country, by the other ocean." That was the easiest explanation.

Jacqui, who had heard more of the story, gave a little knowing chuckle.

"The other ocean where you were?" Sophia asked, "In Hawaii?

"That's right." Carol nodded. "We were in Hawaii to meet up with Aunt Andrea and our other friends from school."

"So why's he here in Georgia _now_?" Sophia asked Carol with a child's directness.

"I figured out I don't like being so far away from your mom anymore so I'm thinking of moving back here to Georgia, but I thought I should check with you first." Daryl told her.

Sophia laid her head on Carol's shoulder, shyly gazing up at him.

"Would you live with us?" Sophia asked, surprising both Carol and Daryl.

Carol looked helplessly at Daryl. She had no idea where this was all coming from. She'd never said anything to Sophia about their relationship other than telling her she'd seen him again at the reunion and had let Jacqui show her the dolphin rescue video.

"Sophia, why do you want to know if Daryl's going to live with _us_? He just said he was thinking of moving back to Georgia." Carol asked, Sophia squirmed to be put down and Carol set her on her feet between her and Daryl.

"After Duane's dad got married to Aunt Jacqui they all live together now." Sophia said matter-of-factly, her tenses a bit confused.

Carol flashed a look at Jacqui who shook her head in denial of having anything to do with this line of questioning.

"Sophia, honey..." Carol started, but the little girl just reached down and lifted Carol's hands. The new ring she wore, a leaping dolphin, its body curved around a blue topaz the color of her eyes, had been a gift from Daryl. When he saw it in one of the shops on Lanai he knew it was meant for her and had given it to her their last night there.

He'd told her that he knew they had some things to work out, but no matter what, he wanted them to be together; that if she didn't want to call it an engagement ring, she could wear it on her right hand as a reminder of their time together.

She'd held out her left hand, the one on which she now wore it.

"Guess that means I better give you your surprise." Daryl said, and pulled a small box from his pocket. He knelt in front of Sophia and opened the box. Inside was a smaller version of Carol's ring, but with a small pearl where the blue stone on Carol's was.

" _For me_?" Sophia said, in awe, staring at the ring.

"I want to you to know I love your momma very much and I'd do anything to make her happy." Daryl said softly, "I'm hoping we can be a family, once you get to know me, hair and all."

Sophia looked up at her mother, who was wiping away tears but smiling hopefully.

"Are you happy, mom?" Sophia asked.

"Happy." Carol nodded, too choked up to say more.

"Then we'll be the happys." Sophia declared, taking the ring out of the box, putting it on her left ring finger, holding out her hand so she could admire it and then rushing forward to hug Daryl.

Daryl looked like you could knock him over with a feather.

Carol reached out her hand to him and he gripped it tightly. Holding Sophia to him with his other arm around her he stood and wrapped them both up in a warm embrace.

"So when can we go meet the dolphins?" Sophia asked.

Carol laughed and looked up into Daryl's adoring eyes and saw her love for him reflected back at her.

They both knew they had finally found their true welcome to paradise.

* * *

 _End of the story, but the start of a new life together for our Caryl!_

 _I had to do a little riff on the top of the bus scene there for the flashback. I love shy squirrely Daryl & Carol working it!_

 _Thanks for sticking with me to the end. Hope you enjoyed reading this one as much as I did writing it._

 _DD1_


	11. Epilogue

_This is a bonus thank you to everyone who read this story and let me know how much they enjoyed it. We find out how Carol and Daryl's lives have changed in the two years since they were reunited on Lanai, including a couple of important additions to the Dixon family._

 _Sweet smut alert!_

* * *

 _ **Epilogue**_

"He'll be fine; it's not the first time you've left him."

"I know, but that was for work and not overnight like this." Carol said, her tone a bit fretful as she stood looking out over the water.

"We can go back n' get him if you want." Daryl said, coming up behind her and putting his arms around her waist, nuzzling in to kiss her neck.

"Really?" Carol asked, fighting the urge to let her head fall to the side so he could keep on doing what he was doing the rest of the way down her bare shoulder...

"Sure—though he's probably gettin' so pampered by all his aunties and uncles and big sis that he's in hog heaven. I think it made Abe n' Shane a bit nervous how excited Lori and Beth were to hold him—that baby fever can be catchin' you know." Daryl chuckled.

"It's as beautiful here as I remembered." Carol sighed, putting her hands over his around her waist. The fragrant breeze, tinged with the scent of orchids and salt air blew lightly across the white sheer curtains on the deck of their little honeymoon suite hut. Built right out on the water of the secluded bay and connected to the island by a long boardwalk, the individual cabin style suites were the ultimate in luxury and usually reserved for the likes of film stars, jet setting models and hip hop moguls.

After two years together, living in Atlanta fulltime, Carol and Daryl had decided to make it official, planning a small wedding for the following fall, their "reunion" anniversary, with a honeymoon on Lanai. A week after the invitations had gone out, they had learned that Carol was pregnant, due in the spring. The idea of going off on a honeymoon thousands of miles away from their six month old baby didn't feel right, so when Michonne suggested a destination wedding, kids and all, as part of the annual reunion, it had morphed into a week-long celebration.

With the addition of Jacqui, Morgan and Duane coming from Atlanta; Daryl's brother Merle, fresh from rehab; the Alexandria contingent including Lori, Shane and Abe's daughter Judith; Tyreese, his sister Sasha and her husband Bob; and Michonne and Andrea's one year old Andre Anthony, they had twenty people to accommodate, so they rented a second beach house, two houses down from the one they had stayed in two years earlier.

One of Andrea's clients was part owner of one of the big resorts on the island and had deeply discounted the honeymoon suite cabin on the water to her as a thank you for a particularly sticky situation she had gotten him out of a few months ago. She and Michonne had presented it to Carol and Daryl as their wedding present along with the promise of overnight babysitting for them. They hadn't had a few days alone to themselves since Caleb had been born.

The Atlanta contingent had arrived in Hawaii on the Friday before, enjoyed three days of sightseeing and relaxation before the actual ceremony on Tuesday, by which time everyone invited to the wedding would have arrived. Ty, who'd had a Sunday night game, had stopped in LA to pick up Sasha and Bob and they had flown in together, the final group to arrive.

When he'd used his free agency to join the Atlanta Falcons, Ty had become part of Daryl and Carol's social circle, joining them and the Jones family for dinner and back yard barbeques as often as he was able. Duane was awed by the pro baller and the side line tickets he gave them for home games were put to good use.

The wedding ceremony itself was very informal. Ten year old Sophia was her mother's maid of honor and carried her baby brother down the aisle. Daryl asked Merle to be his best man, in part to acknowledge how his brother had turned his life around.

After a lot of deep discussion and some therapy to help him deal with all the events in his life leading up to what had happened on that cliff, Daryl better understood why his brother had left home and never looked back. He had gotten the same beatings and abuse as Daryl and had chosen to numb himself with drugs, using escalating crimes to obtain them.

In going through Rick's things after his death, they'd come across the contact information Grimes had for Merle. The address was West Georgia Correctional, a prison south of Atlanta.

Six years ago he'd been living in a shack outside of a town south of Atlanta called Woodbury, working as a dealer for a meth lord who liked to be called the "Governor." After witnessing the murders of the head of a rival cartel and his entire family, Merle went to the DEA and then stayed on the inside as an informant. No one knew the role he played in bringing Blake's operation down. He refused Federal witness protection, preferring instead to maintain the illusion he was still part of the gang and take the punisment for his crimes. Figured he'd live longer that way.

He was arrested for dealing and possession when the headquarters were raided and sentenced to ten years; possibly less with time off for good behavior. Inside or outside didn't matter much to him. He was still an addict and would try anything he could get his hands on. Even in prison he had willing suppliers.

When Daryl and Carol first visited him at West Georgia he was in the middle of a power struggle between two rival prison gangs. A bandage across his nose along with two black eyes meant it was probably broken and his right hand was in a cast that went up to his elbow.

"Merle." Daryl said, nodding from his chair at one of the series of tables in the Visitor's room.

"Well now, baby brother, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Merle said, flopping into the chair across from Daryl and Carol. He focused his bloodshot rheumy eyes on Carol, staring with interest at her fashionable sweater set and slacks, her floral scarf perfectly draped around her neck, and the wispy russet curls that framed her delicate face and big blue eyes, accented by just a hint of mascara.

"Just found out you were in here—" Daryl began.

"She's _way_ too high class to be _your_ piece a' pussy—you bring me a new lawyer or somthin'?" Merle interrupted lazily, leaning forward in his chair to rest his hands on the table. His knuckles were scraped and bruised, the nails short, ragged and yellowed by nicotine.

"Watch your mouth, sunshine." Daryl drawled, narrowing his eyes, "This is Carol, my fiancé."

"Yer _what_?" Merle chuckled in disbelief.

Daryl took Carol's hand in his, exchanging a look with her and then raised it so his brother could see her ring.

"That's a _fish_." Merle snorted, "Ya gave yer woman a damn _fish_ ring?"

" _Dolphins_ are mammals." Carol said evenly.

"Oh yeah—that's right—heard about Dolphin Daryl!" Merle cackled. Then he called out to no one in particular, _"Hey, we got ourselves a reg-u-lar celebrity in our midst!"_

"Keep it down Dixon." The guard standing closest to their table ordered.

"But my lil' bro's famous! He done got himself rescued by a bunch of fish!" Merle said indignantly.

"Mammals." Carol said again dryly.

A few other people around the room looked up and towards the table where the Dixon brothers sat, murmuring, suddenly interested.

"Just simmer down now." Merle said, again to the room in general. "Havin' me a visit with my brother and his fee-ancy. No dolphins here."

At that Carol gave a little laugh which Daryl joined her in and Merle stared at them, entranced by the sweet happy sound of it.

"Just what magic you working there, sis?" Merle said, shaking his head slowly back and forth.

"Magic?" Carol asked, still smiling.

"Now I ain't seen Derle for a few years, since he high tailed it to th'other coast, but somehow he's gone from the surly son of a bitch he's always been to what I see here," he gestured at Daryl's grin, "must mean yer _some_ kinda witch."

Carol laughed again while Daryl's eyes narrowed.

"How'd you get hooked up anyhow—you ain't no beach bunny valley girl—that's Georgia I hear when you open those..." and Merle leaned forward, staring at her mouth with a rather lascivious expression, "sweet, sweet lips."

"We knew each other in college." Carol said, ignoring Daryl's warning grunt at his brother to back off.

"Oh holy hell—you're the little gal he was sweet on back at school? Well shit—Rick the Dick weren't lyin' after all." Merle said, leaning back and pursing his lips.

At Rick's name Daryl bristled.

"Paid me a visit—right 'chere at the site of my unfortunate incarceration—paid me a tidy sum to find out how to find you, said he was tryin' to reunite you with your lost love or some such bullshit." Merle said with a shrug, interested in Daryl's expression of distaste at the mention of the other man's name. "Guess you two ain't stayed in touch."

"He ain't in touch with no one no more." Daryl said, reverting to Merle level grammar the longer they talked.

"Well good—that dude was fucked up. Had a hard-on the whole time he was talkin' about you, baby brother." Merle snorted, "You stay away from _that_ shit." then he seemed to realize belatedly that Carol was still sitting there and he sat up straighter and winced, worried he'd offended her.

"Over and done." Daryl said flatly. "He's dead."

Merle leaned forward again, concern in his hard blue gaze.

"You _do_ somthin'?" he said in a very low soft voice.

"It was ruled an accident." Daryl said quietly.

A look of respect passed across Merle's blunt features and he nodded slowly, a smile breaking over his face. He slanted his gaze to Carol, who had taken Daryl's hand in hers in solidarity.

"So tell me about yourself, sis." Merle drawled, "Since we're gonna be related soon."

"I'd like to hear more about you, actually." Carol countered, her voice placid steel.

"Well now, I'm an open book darlin', ask away." Merle smirked.

Carol leaned across the table and beckoned him forward with one finger.

Merle leaned in, turning his head so his ear was towards her in an exaggerated posture of listening.

"What are you _on_?" Carol whispered.

The guard cleared his throat loudly at their too close proximity and Carol sat back, her eyes still focused on Merle.

Merle squinted at her, his mouth set in a straight line. He sniffed and then sucked at his teeth as he looked to Daryl.

"Nosy bitch, ain't she?"

Daryl snaked out his right hand and grasped Merle's wrist, bending it up at a painful angle.

" _Answer her."_ he rasped.

"Daryl, stop." Carol said, putting her hand gently on his forearm.

Daryl released Merle before the guard's attention was drawn back to their table.

" _Shit_ man!" Merle whined, shaking out his hand.

"You want me to call him over and suggest you go piss in a cup?" Daryl said in a tense quiet voice with a nod at the guard.

"Though we was getting' to know each other all nice like and she goes and accuses me a'partakin'in some illegal activity." Merle said resentfully. "Whatta ya want from me?"

"I just want my brother back." Daryl said quietly, "I want you in my life, but that isn't gonna happen if you can't get clean. Carol's got a little girl and I can't have you around them if you're still doin' that shit."

Merle stared at Daryl trying to gauge his sincerity.

"Last time I saw you was when we were planting that old som'bitch in the ground. You told me to stay away because you thought old Merle was there to get his piece of the pie." Merle scoffed. "Hell, I knew there weren't no pie—fucker goin' out the way he did used up whatever dough he had socked away for medical bills. Didn't come back for no _pie_."

"Why _did_ you come back Merle?" Carol asked quietly.

"He's my brother. Only family I got left in the world." Merle said, more subdued now, shifting uneasily in his chair.

"Then you need to get clean, Merle." Daryl said. "There's a treatment program—we got you a place in it when you get outa here."

Merle blinked and his head went back in confusion.

"You gonna Betty Ford my ass? How you gonna pay for that? She some heiress or somthin'?" Merle asked gesturing at Carol with his broken wrist.

"It's paid for. You gonna go?" Daryl asked, dismissing any other questions out of hand.

Merle sniffed, rubbing the underside of his nose with his left hand and then sniffed again, looking down at the surface of the table for a long moment.

Carol exchanged a worried look with Daryl.

"Yeah." said Merle softly, still looking at the table, "I'll go."

Daryl smiled, but quickly suppressed it when Merle finally raised his head.

"Could I have a minute alone with Merle, please?" Carol asked Daryl.

Daryl frowned but did as she asked, standing up and going to wait by the guard.

"You need to understand something, Merle." Carol said firmly, raising her chin.

"Excuse me?" Merle said, puzzled as to what she could have to say that she didn't want Daryl to hear.

"If you screw this up? Mess with Daryl?" she raised an eyebrow.

Merle tilted his head at her, narrowing his eyes assessingly.

"What? You'll slit my throat while I sleep?" he made a disparaging sound.

"Don't underestimate me." Carol said quietly, staring him down. "I love him with everything I have."

Merle stared at her for a long time until just the corner of one side of his mouth curled upwards, a half smile so like Daryl's that it almost brought tears to her eyes.

"That makes two of us, Freckles." Merle said, looking over at Daryl.

"So you'll try. For him?" Carol asked. "You can start over...with each other..."

"I want to." Merle nodded.

* * *

Thirteen months later, on his release, Merle entered a treatment center in Atlanta for a three month stay. It was rough, especially at the start. When he was allowed visitors they went, bringing Sophia to meet him. They charmed each other. It was an odd sight to see them walking the grounds, the graying hard ass with trembling hands patiently telling her the names of all the trees and the little girl chattering on about her life at home and school.

When Carol found out she was pregnant, it was Merle that helped Sophia through her initial jealousy at the thought of a baby taking away her mother and new father. Almost the same number of years older than Daryl as Sophia would be from her new sibling, Merle explained that she would be there to help her little brother or sister grow up, to love and protect him or her and be loved in return.

Caleb's birth had been a family event. He had come a week early and Daryl had been out of town delivering a bike. When she went into labor he rushed back, but Merle, who worked in the shop at the Atlanta branch of Dixon Customs, was the one who took her to the ER. Jacqui arrived soon thereafter with Sophia and Duane, but when Carol was asked who she wanted in the delivery room with her, to his surprise she wanted Merle.

Daryl made it there in time to see the doctor handing Merle the scissors to cut the cord. Looking up when the door opened Merle held them out to his brother. Daryl shook his head and came over to watch, staring down at his newborn son with awe. After Merle fulfilled his final duty the doctor handed the baby over to the nurse to clean up, weigh and test. She in turn then handed him to his father and Daryl brought him to Carol, laying him on her chest to cuddle.

"Thank you." Carol said, looking up from the tiny miracle to Merle, who was trying to slip out of the room unnoticed, leaving the little family alone.

"Yeah—thanks brother." Daryl echoed gratefully.

"Yeah, well, next time you get your ass here in time—I did _not_ need to be lookin' at your woman squeezin' a kid outa her naughty bits." Merle groused, scratching his stubbled chin, "Scarred me for life, seein' that shit."

The doctor and nurses all chuckled. Merle had been nothing but patient and gentle with Carol through the entire delivery, the only words he'd spoken had been ones of comfort and encouragement, assuring her that Daryl would be here soon.

Hours later, sitting in the hospital room with Carol as she tried nursing their son first time, Daryl filled out the forms for the birth certificate with the name they'd agreed on: _Caleb Merlin Dixon_.

* * *

"Glad we decided not to hyphenate the name." Daryl said, thinking back on the discussion they'd had in naming the boy as he looked out over the pristine blue water, smiling at the pod of spinners leaping and diving here.

"Yes, well Mason-Dixon _was_ just a little too precious." Carol laughed, slapping a little at his hands around her waist.

Daryl slid his hands up to just below her breasts, fuller now, still nursing their son. She'd left expressed milk for his overnight feedings back at the beach house and would do the same tomorrow when they met up with the rest of the wedding party for lunch.

Tonight all they had to think about was each other.

"You doing okay?" Daryl asked, gently running the tips off his fingers over the undersides, back and forth, testing their tenderness.

Carol gave a little moaning sigh.

"You want to..." she said, leaning back into him.

"It's okay?" he asked, his breath hot against her neck.

"It's okay." Carol murmured.

"You sure?" he asked.

"It's our wedding night, sweetheart, yes, you can." Carol assured him.

Daryl bent and lifted her, carrying her back to the bedroom and laying her on the bed.

"You'll tell me if it's too much?" Daryl asked, sounding shy. "If it doesn't feel good?"

"I'll tell you." she promised him.

"You really don't think it's—" Daryl began, but she sat up and unbuttoned her nightgown, silencing him. She slid the gown off her shoulders, baring herself to him.

It was something that he'd been craving, but was also embarrassed about. Before the baby he'd loved and lavished his attention on her whole her body, especially her derriere, but since she'd been nursing he'd felt like her breasts were a hands-off zone—they were the baby's now, not his. For some reason that had made them the biggest turn-on he could imagine, like forbidden fruit.

He'd been so careful with her, trying to find a balance between showing her how much he still wanted her and not asking too much of her in bed. They were both tired most of the time; she'd gone back to work after an eight week maternity leave, enjoying the benefits of an on-site day care at her workplace.

They traded off and every other night he'd get up and feed Caleb milk she'd expressed so she could sleep through the night. The contrast between the way Ed had been with Sophia, just leaving the house for the night when she fussed and cried as a baby, and the way Daryl was with Caleb melted Carol's heart. She couldn't ask for a better father for her children.

The last time they'd had an entire night to themselves had been months ago, on Carol's birthday when Jacqui had taken both kids for the night. It had been a semi-disaster when Sophia had come down with a stomach virus at two a.m. and had thrown up all over her bed in the guest room. They'd had to go get her and the baby, hoping he wouldn't get sick as well, but by the next day everyone except Daryl had it.

Sex had been a rushed and furtive thing since then, trying to fit it in between feedings and the dawn. Often they'd get only as far as trading some deep kisses and intimate touches until one or the other quietly came before one or both of them passed out from exhaustion. At the beach house Caleb's bassinet and a cot for Sophia had been in their room the first nights of the trip so they'd had a forced celibacy there.

"You're so beautiful." Daryl sighed, kneeling on the bed in front of her and pulling off his clothes quickly.

Carol smiled crookedly at him. She hadn't lost all the baby weight, but he was looking at her like she was a delicious dessert and he couldn't wait to take a bite. She loved his arms, his expressive hands, and shivered in anticipation of them moving over her, his touch and his mouth on her.

Daryl moved beside her, taking her chin in his right hand, lifting it to kiss her and then running his fingers down her jaw, neck, collarbone and finally to the swell of her breast, circling it slowly until he held its weight cupped against his palm, full to overflowing, groaning into her mouth.

Carol lay back against the pillows, continuing to kiss him and pulled him along with her. He filled his left hand with her other breast, sliding his tongue against hers as he played his fingers over the stiffening nipples. Her breathing started to quicken and she felt the familiar tingling tug as that invisible thread connecting nipple to clit was excited by his touches. She broke the kiss and arched into him, moaning,

" _More..."_

Daryl felt the wet heat on his fingers at her breasts and swooped down, his mouth closing over the center of the right, tongue laving, tasting the sweet liquid.

" _Oh god!"_ Carol cried out and he sucked down hard. The feel of his rough whiskers on her tender skin along with the force of his mouth and power of his tongue was so different than when she fed their son. This was a sexual, sensual thing between lovers.

He looked up at her, dazed with it, what he'd dreamed about doing for months, nosing deeper into her breast, his cheeks hollowing out as he suckled deeply. Her hand cradled the back of his head, his long hair soft as it brushed against her skin.

Daryl curved himself around her and took her other hand, dragging it over his tight abs to his rigid erection, his eyes rolling back as her hand closed around him and started its stroke. Then he added one more layer of stimulation by reaching between them to find the center of her heat, slick and waiting for his touch, smiling as he felt the hard nub already erect and primed for him.

Their first orgasms were freeing, letting them release the tension they'd been carrying for so long. The freedom to be loud—to scream or swear or groan without worrying about waking someone else was something to be reveled in. The second time he told her he wanted her on top so he could be deep inside her and still use his fingers on her clit to add to what she was feeling.

She pouted a little and told him she knew he just wanted to watch her tits bounce as she rode him, saying her ass was feeling neglected.

He couldn't say she was wrong, but at the reminder of his favorite, Daryl gave her a darkly predatory look that made her flush pink on her chest and throat. Without a word he flipped her over and started wetly kissing his way down the small of her back and across each cheek, using that long strong tongue in tandem with sucking nips to caress every inch.

Then he flipped her back over and drew her legs over his shoulders, spreading her wide and began devouring her in such a ravenous way that in short order she came with abandon, spasming against his mouth and grabbing at the sheets and his hair as she cried out in ecstasy.

While she was still coming Carol felt his tongue delicately drift back to her smaller opening and start deep licking strokes across it, making her whimper and push against him, silently asking for more. He lifted his head and waiting a few beats to make sure she watched, put his middle finger inside his mouth and sucked on it, then he pulled it out slowly and pushed it inside her wet pussy, charging it with her silken juices as he curved it, stroking up into her depths, in and out in a slow rhythm.

Her hips started to move with him, urging him on with little high pitched pants, but then he stopped, drawing his finger out. She protested with a whine until he drew it back to circle her other opening and gently pressed inside. She pushed against the penetration, helping, opening for him and he continued to move forward until the finger was fully seated, waiting for her to relax around it. When she did, he started licking and sucking at her clit, lapping up her sweetness, humming with pleasure, reaching up with his other hand to smooth it over her abdomen, feeling the muscles there flex as she arched, pushing her hips into him.

" _Daryl...god..."_ Carol moaned and found his muscular forearm with her hand, dragging his hand higher to her breast. He fitted the tight nipple between the V at the junction of his middle and pointer fingers so he could cradle and squeeze the whole soft rounded mound and still pinch where she needed it. Her approving groan and the sudden gush of nectar against his tongue and hands told him he was doing it right.

How long had it been since they'd had the time to play like this?

Making a spear of his tongue he thrust it inside her pussy while also nosing her clit and she laughed with happiness as she came this time, so over stimulated she felt light headed.

Daryl raised his head, looking up at her, legs sprawled open with abandon, breathing hard, waiting for him and he wanted to be inside her; he felt _starved_ for her. He kissed his way up her body, lingering on her soft belly, remembering how he'd lie against it and talk to Caleb all those nights while she'd sheltered him inside her. She was the mother of his children, she was his wife; she was his everything.

"Com'ere." Carol said, opening her arms to him.

Daryl went into her embrace, his head cradled against her breasts, feeling them rise and fall with her still rapid breathing, pressing light kisses to her forearms as she petted her fingers through his mane of hair. Then she drew him up for more kisses, savoring his lush lips and tongue moving with hers. He kissed with everything he had and she loved that about him. What was that old song? _It's in his kiss?_

The first time he'd kissed her in the kitchen at the house in college she'd felt it—how he'd abandoned all pretense of simple friendship and given in to his _need_ to let her know how he felt about her. She'd told herself at the time that she was just projecting her own love for him onto what was probably just another drunken hook up for him; but now she knew better. His kiss that night was the only way he could tell her; _show_ her how he felt back then when enough drink and his impending departure had lowered his inhibitions.

She felt him settle his hips into the cradle of her thighs, his erection rigid and pulsing between their bellies.

"You want me to use one?' Daryl asked, trailing nuzzling kisses down her jaw.

"No, but you probably should." Carol sighed. They'd welcome more kids, but not so soon after Caleb.

"Okay—gimme a minute." Daryl grunted, giving her a quick kiss and sitting up to paw through the honeymoon gift basket their friends had left on the night stand in the room.

"Well, ain't this interestin'..." He chuckled and tossed something at her.

Carol sat up and snorted. It was an extra large bottle labeled 'Organic Lotus lubricating gel.'

"Maybe later..." she said and shot him a quick grin.

"Shit...didn't think my dick could _get_ any harder..." Daryl muttered and groaned as he rolled on the condom, taking a few slow deep breaths to try and slow himself down. He'd already come once tonight and that was helping, but god almighty he wanted to last as long as possible inside her now.

Daryl lay back down and gave her the puppy dog eyes, one hand reaching out to jiggle her left breast hopefully and she pursed her lips at him.

"I suppose you should enjoy them while you can." she said in mock stoicism.

" _Always_ liked your boobs..." he told her seriously, not wanting her to think it was only because they were bigger now, "...thinking 'bout how those sweet little pink nipples would taste if I ever got the chance to-"

"How did you know they were _pink_?" Carol interrupted suspiciously, stopping his fingers stealthy progress towards the topic of discussion.

"Saw 'em once." Daryl admitted.

" _Daryl!"_

"It was an accident—first time at the lake—you had on Lori's suit...it was a bit too big?"

"And I asked you to put lotion on me." Carol said, blushing at the memory of her first flirtation.

Daryl's other hand slid from her hip to the neatly trimmed patch of curls at her center.

"How I knew you were a real red head too." he smirked, stroking her there. "That was my favorite jerk off image for _years_..."

Carol raised an eyebrow at him. He'd been with other women in the last ten years...

"It was always you." Daryl said, seeing her question in her eyes. "I knew being with you would be like heaven."

"Your sweaty bare arms and neck when you played Frisbee with the guys..." Carol said in a low purr, "Your shirt and shorts clinging to every muscular curve after you came out of the water at that lake; your eyes burning their blue into me as I bandaged your hand...the smell of your leather motorcycle jacket and how good your ass filled out those tight black jeans..." she reached down and ran her fingers lightly over his cock and then closed them over it, "Imagining _this_..."

"Reality live up to your imaginings?" Daryl asked, biting his lip when in one fluid motion she moved to straddle him, retaining a firm grip so she could guide him inside her. He grasped her hips to help her, steadying her.

" _Better,"_ Carol sighed and then asked, "Did it for you?" starting to move, slowly rolling her hips up and back, riding him, smiling when she saw his gaze mesmerized by the sway of her breasts.

"You know you're my heaven, sweetheart." Daryl said, groaning, his hands sliding up from her waist to enjoy the bounce as she quickened her pace.

"Welcome to paradise." Carol smiled down at him.

* * *

 _I wanted to get Merle in there, but his story just didn't fit with the earlier chapters. I thought this worked well, building on what Rick had done in finding him to get info on Daryl & it kind of grew from there. I also wanted Tyreese involved in their lives—I was sad to see him pass away on the show—and gave Sasha back Bob as well. I gave Michonne both Andrea & Andre; I was really feeling the happily ever after vibes today I guess! LOL._

 _The resort cabin on the water was based on a picture I saw of Jennifer Aniston's honeymoon site._

 _I'm sad to see this one end, but I had a lot of fun writing it! Thanks again for all your kind reviews._

 _DD1_


End file.
